VISAKHAPATNAM: The Human Rights Forum (HRF) has opposed the AP Cabinet’s recent approval of the AP Factories Amendment Bill, 2025, which proposes to extend the workday to 10 hours.
Terming the move as a serious threat to labour rights, HRF State General Secretary Y Rajesh and HRF member of the AP & Telangana Coordination Committee VS Krishna demanded the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the proposed amendment. The amendment, which seeks to modify provisions under the Factories Act, 1948, has been described by the government as a reform aimed at improving business efficiency. However, HRF argued that the change undermines the progress made over decades through labour struggles for fair and humane working conditions.
“The eight-hour workday has long been a cornerstone of labour rights, not a gift from employers but the outcome of generations of working-class resistance,” the Forum stated. It recalled the role played by BR Ambedkar in shaping and institutionalising this right in the 1940s, and criticised the amendment as a rollback of this significant achievement.
According to HRF, the language of “ease of doing business” is increasingly being used to justify policies that erode labour protections.