UP govt orders "no female worker bound to work without her written consent before 6 am and after 7 pm”

The Yogi-led Uttar Pradesh government, in an attempt to make the work environment safe for women folk, issued an order stating that no women worker should be compelled to do the night shift in factories across UP.

"No female worker shall be bound to work without her written consent before 6 am and after 7 pm. The authorities will also have to provide free transportation, food, and sufficient supervision if working during the aforementioned hours," said the government order.

As per the order, if the woman worker does not accept to work before 6 am and after 7 pm, she should be terminated from the work.

The UP labor department, notifying the decision late Friday night, makes clear that It makes it clear that women workers will not be forced to work beyond 7 pm and would not be called to work before 6 am without their written consent.

"The onus of providing a secure working atmosphere to the women workers will lie with the employer to prevent an incident of sexual harassment in the workplace. Moreover, the GO makes it mandatory for the employer to inculcate a robust complaint mechanism in the factory in compliance with the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 or in any other related enactments", the order further stated.