House okays night shift for women

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 25

Putting an end to discrimination against women, the Assembly today unanimously passed a Bill allowing women to work during night in shops and commercial establishments. The move will provide more employment opportunities to women, especially in the field of Information Technology.

Barring health and police, women employees were not allowed to work during night hours, limiting their employment opportunities. The state amended the rules earlier in 2009 to allow women in factories to work at night. With the expansion of various units under the Information Technology that operate round the clock, there was a strong demand for opening night shifts for women also.

Bhagat Chunni Lal, Labour Minister tabled the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2015 today. Justifying the need for the amendment, the minister said barring few establishments, there was ban on the employment of women during night shift in shops and commercial establishments.

He further said that during the last few years, there had been improvement in transport and security system and many commercial establishments remained open during night, including call centres. “If women workers are not allowed to work during night, it will be discrimination against them and employers also face difficulty in managing shifts. To ensure women empowerment and provide them with more employment opportunities, the amendment was necessary,” he said. The House passed the bill unanimously. Labour Commissioner HS Nanda said the amendment would give a major boost to employment opportunities for women, but strict conditions ensuring the security of women had to be followed by the employers. This includes providing transportation, security guards at the office.