MUMBAI:  So everybody is asking about the Union Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoLE) working on new labour codes which will make way for a three-day weekend in India. So, if implemented is a 4-day work week going to be become a reality in India?

On Monday, Labour and Employment Secretary Apurva Chandra said that the proposed new labour codes could provide companies with the flexibility of four working days in a week, although the working hours limit of 48 hours for a week will remain "sacrosanct" 

Chandra stressed on the point that companies cannot increase the workings hours beyond the mandated 48-hour limit for the week and those enabling four-day workweek will have to provide three days of consecutive holidays after that. He also said that such a proposal will have to agreed by both, the companies and the employees, and cannot be unilateral. 

Technically this implies that if the working days in a week are reduced, employees will have to adjust to longer shifts. To meet the longer working hours for a 48-hour weekly work days, will essentially result in daily shifts of 12 hours. 

The proposed working hours provisions will be part of the labour code, and once the new rules are implemented, employers will no longer be required to seek government permission to shift to a four or a five-day working week if their employees approve the arrangement.

The Centre had passed four labour codes in Parliament in September 2020, following draft rules formulated in December 2019. The MoLE received comments concerning these rules in January this year and is likely to complete the process to finalize the rules for four labour codes soon.

In a study done by World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2019, Mexico, Costa Rica and South Korea top a list of longest hours worked, while workers clock up the fewest in Germany, Denmark and Norway.

Employees in Germany work an average of 1,356 hours per year, about 900 less than their counterparts in Mexico, that compares with the United States at 1,780 and Japan at 1,710.

While the difference can largely be explained by cultural attitudes and other social factors, it can also be influenced by policy. In 2018, South Korea's National Assembly voted to cut the maximum working week to 52 hours from 68.