Sat Jan 11 11:59:40 UTC 2025: ## MP Demands Action Against Companies Promoting Excessive Work Hours

**New Delhi, [Date]** – A Member of Parliament (MP) has called for government intervention to prevent companies from violating labor laws regarding working hours. Raja Ram Singh of the CPIML (Liberation) wrote to Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, expressing concern over recent statements by prominent business leaders advocating for significantly longer workweeks, including Sundays.

Singh’s letter cites comments made by L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan, who reportedly urged employees to work 90 hours a week, including Sundays, and Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, who reportedly supported a 70-hour workweek. Similar sentiments were expressed by other business leaders, according to the letter.

The MP highlighted the potential negative health consequences associated with excessive working hours, citing studies linking long shifts to increased stress, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and musculoskeletal disorders. He argued that longer hours do not necessarily translate to increased productivity.

Singh emphasized India’s already long average workweek, citing an International Labour Organization report placing India seventh globally in average working hours in 2023, surpassed only by six other nations. He stressed the historical significance of the eight-hour workday, achieved after considerable struggle, and highlighted the existing legal limits under the Factories Act of 1934 (amended in 1946), which mandates a maximum 48-hour workweek and a 9-hour workday.

Singh urged the Minister to ensure strict enforcement of these laws and to penalize companies violating them, arguing that the government has a responsibility to protect worker well-being and uphold labor standards. He called for measures to prevent workers from being compelled to work beyond the legal limit.

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