Foxconn deal: Karnataka labour laws in focus, Tamil Nadu may follow

Allowing 12-hour shifts for all and nighttime work for women was meant to benefit software firms, but is said to have clinched Foxconn's Rs 8,000 cr investment

Foxconn’s decision to invest Rs 8,000 crore in Karnataka, cleared by the state government on Monday, has brought into limelight the recent changes in the state’s labour laws allowing 12-hour shifts in factories and nighttime work for women. The changes had gone almost unnoticed when they were passed in the state Assembly on February 24 as part of the Factories (Karnataka Amendment) Bill 2023 without a debate as the opposition walked out in protest.

Earlier, a factory shift could not be more than nine hours and women were not allowed to work night shifts. The new law also increases the