BANGALORE: The Karnataka Cabinet on Monday decided to promulgate an Ordinance to scrap the law that bans employing women on night shifts. The Government hopes this will end the raging controversy on the matter.

Addressing presspersons after a Cabinet meeting, Minister for Labour Iqbal Ansari said Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and his Cabinet colleagues held informal discussions following the demand made by women's organisations seeking removal of the provision in the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961, which prohibits employing women on night shifts (from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.).

The Law Department has been asked to prepare a draft to remove Section 30, sub-section (3) and Column 25 of the 1961 Act in order to promulgate an Ordinance that will permit women to work on night shifts. The word "prohibition" in the Act, which refers to banning women from working at night, will be removed. The Minister said that the Janata Dal (Secular)-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition Government had not imposed a ban on night shifts for women since such a provision already existed under the 1961 Act.

Some exemptions

The law banning women from working in certain sectors between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. had been in the statute books for 46 years, with some exemptions being introduced from time to time, Mr. Ansari said. Through an amendment of the existing Act, which was passed by the State legislature last month, the Government had only enhanced the penalty on those who violated the law.

"Though the amendment, we only attached punishment measures for the violation of the Act," he said.

In the light of the Government's decision to scrap the ban, the recent amendment that received Governor T.N. Chaturvedi's assent on April 27 and was notified in the Gazette on April 30 would be put on hold, Mr. Ansari said.

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