The Tamil Nadu Assembly passed an amendment to the Factories Act, 1948.
It aims to enable exemption to industries from the present norms on maximum work hours, holidays and overtime wages as defined in the Act.
Workers can now choose to work for 12-hour daily shifts and they will be entitled to four-day work week, with three days off.
The bill now empowers the state government to exempt any factory or group or group of factories from any or all of the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948, which entail rules related to working hour limits.
Some sections are: Sections 51 (weekly hours), 52 (weekly holidays), 54 (daily hours), 55 (intervals of rest), 56 (spread over) or 59 (prohibition of overlapping shifts).