The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government issued an order stating that no female worker can be forced to work the night shift in factories across the state in order to promote a safe working environment for women.
The circular from the government stated, "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".
According to the directive, if a female employee refuses to work before 6 a.m. or after 7 p.m., she will not be terminated.
The state order to notify the decision was issued late Friday night by the UP-labour department. It makes it clear that female employees will not be forced to work after 7 p.m. or called to work before 6 a.m. unless they have given their written consent.
Women's workforce exemptions have been announced by the government at all mills and enterprises in the state.
It further said, "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".
