PANAJI
The repercussions of the recently passed amendment to the Factories Act -- The Factories (Goa Amendment) Act, 2025 -- which makes the work day in factories in the State a 10-hour affair instead of the current nine hours are beginning to worry Goa’s labour leaders who allege the government pushed the legislation without much discussion.
Once the amendment comes into force, an adult factory worker can be made to work for up to ‘10 hours’ in a day instead of the previous nine hours. Correspondingly, the maximum hours of overtime that a factory worker can be made to work in a quarter (three-month-period) has also been increased to 144 hours instead of the early 125 hours.
A top labour leader told The Goan that several State governments in the country are also pursuing such changes in the Central factories act driven by the Capitalists push to increase production in factories. “No consultation or studies have been done on what effect this will have on workers’ health,” the labour leader said.
He also said that the Maharashtra government which is also considering a similar amendment has kept the decision on hold.
