The Andhra Pradesh Factories Amendment Bill, 2025, which permits women to work night shifts after 7 pm and before 6 am, was passed by the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on 4th June. The bill also amends the Factories Act of 1948 in a number of other ways, including allowing overtime and more hours of labour each day.
According to an official statement, the modifications are being implemented as part of labour reforms to reduce procedural compliance burden on industrial establishments.
According to Information and Public Relations Minister Kolusu Partha Sarathy, who announced the decisions made at the 4th June Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, women will now be able to work at night in factories with protections like consent, transportation, security, and CCTV surveillance. He added that there needs to be adequate lighting in the regions surrounding the workplace.
The management of factories where women work night shifts must also follow rules including providing sufficient protection to prevent sexual harassment and transporting them from the factory to their homes.
Additionally, Parthasarathy stated that the Factories Act’s Section 54 has been revised to raise the daily maximum allowable labour hours from nine to ten. The work duration has been increased to six hours by amending Section 55, which states that employees can only work a maximum of five hours before taking a break.
This has been increased to 12 hours, even though Section 56 states that the maximum work hours, including rest breaks, cannot be distributed over more than ten and a half hours in a day.
According to Sections 64 and 65, the maximum amount of overtime permitted per quarter was 50 to 75 hours; however, this has now been increased to 144 hours.
As part of labour reforms to lessen the burden of procedural compliance on industrial establishments, the State Cabinet approved the Labour, Factory Boilers & Insurance Medical Services Department’s (LFB & IMS) proposal to amend certain provisions of Sections 54, 55, 56, 59, 64, 65, and 66 of the Factories Act, 1948 through the Andhra Pradesh Factories Amendment Bill, 2025, said a Government release.
