THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) strongly condemns the statement made by the chairman of Larsen & Toubro (L&T), who wanted an extension of working hours to 90 hours per week. A similar objectionable statement was earlier made by Infosys head NR Narayan Murthy, advocating for a statutory increase in working hours to 70 hours per week. In a statement issued on January 11, CITU noted that it appears there is a worsening competition among corporate leaders to exploit Indian workers further, with their active collaboration with the Modi-led NDA government.

Indian workers, even those in permanent positions in the formal sector, are already working far longer hours compared to their counterparts in countries like China, Europe, and the US. The extension of working hours is severely impacting the health and social lives of Indian workers. Despite this, such harmful proposals are being pushed by the corporates to reduce employment and labour costs, under the guise of improving efficiency and productivity. This has led to widespread exploitation, contributing to 11,486 suicides in 2022, as recorded by the Crime Bureau. The exploitation of labour is evident in the decline of wages' share in net value addition, which fell sharply to 15.94 per cent in 2022-23 from 27.64 per cent in 1990-91, while the share of net profit rose from 19.06 per cent to 51.92 per cent during the same period, according to the Annual Survey of Industries report. This trend has also exacerbated joblessness.

The continuous push by leading corporate houses to extend working hours is part of a broader conspiracy with the central government, which has already made provisions in the Labour Codes for increasing working hours through executive decisions. Although the Labour Codes have not yet been notified due to resistance from the trade union movement, various state governments – both BJP-ruled and some non-BJP states – have attempted to implement 12-hour workdays, a move that has been met with united resistance from the trade union movement in many states.

CITU calls upon all sections of the working class to rise in protest and unitedly fight against these corporate-driven moves and prepare for a nationwide resistance, both at workplaces and on a national level, to protect their basic labour rights and social lives.

These attacks on workers’ rights must be countered fiercely with a demand for shorter working hours, specifically based on the demand of the World Federation of Trade Unions' (WFTU) for 7 hours of work a day and 5 working days a week.