The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : RAI plea for flexible working hours

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 14, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

RAI plea for flexible working hours

Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE: The Retailers Association of India (RAI) has appealed to the State Governments to permit flexible working hours in the retail segment.

According to the chief executive officer of the association, Gibson G. Vedamani, while several of the bigger stores obtain permission on an individual basis, it is the smaller ones that are affected. The State Governments should amend the Establishments Act to allow flexible timing. The association has made representations to some of the State Governments, including that of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and West Bengal, for the same. It has also sought permission for part-time employment in retail outlets. This is mainly for those who can be employed in the retail segment under the labour category.

Further, the association is working with some of the State Governments in training unemployed youth to help them take up jobs in the sector. The State Government should come out with a plan and the association will help in training the youth. The association, which has about 240 members now, plans to nearly double it by the end of March next. Since even the one store or two store companies can become members, the number is expected to go up and this will be across all segments of the retail sector. It plans to have regional offices in Bangalore and Delhi initially.

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