AICCTU Condemns the Statement of Chairman of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) that employees should work 90 hours a week

AICCTU Condemns the Statement of Chairman of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) that employees should work 90 hours a week and demands strict enforcement of the 8 hour day and 48 hour week

AICCTU strongly condemns the recent statements made by SN Subrahmanyan, Chairman of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) that employees should work 90 hours a week and even on Sundays. Few months ago, the Co-founder of Infosys Narayana Murthy had said that in order to increase work productivity in the nation and increase India's competitiveness, young Indians should put in up to 70 hours a week of labor. Other business titans like Bhavish Aggarwal of Ola, Sajjan Jindal of Jindal Steel Works Group publicly supported the proposal for a 70-hour work week. 

Emboldened by the Modi government's brazenly pro-Corporate policies and strengthening Corporate Raj under the Modi regime, corporate houses are freely issuing such statements that show utter disregard  towards the working class, including their physical and mental well-being. Moreover, the Corporates also have illegally made 12 hour work a norm, particularly for contract workers.

The 8 hour work day is a product of great struggle, one for which lives were sacrificed. India’s legalised 8 hour working day came with the 1946 Amendment to the Factories Act of 1934 – a result of the Bill introduced by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar as Labour Member in the Viceroy’s Executive Council. 

One of the serious impacts of long working hours is on the health of the workers. Several studies have linked long working shifts to negative impact on general health, including problems with cognitive anxiety, musculoskeletal disorders, sleep disturbance, and stress. There is also the associated fatigue created by excess working hours that “also spreads to other organs affecting the neuromuscular mechanism leading to reduced sensory perception, less attention, reducing the ability of discrimination, weakening the muscles, reducing the gland secretions, reducing the heartbeat or irregular heartbeat, and dilating the blood vessels”. There is enough evidence now that that longer working hours badly affect the occupational health of workers. 

It is important to note that not only does working longer hours not ensure increased productivity, but in fact reduces productivity. Data confirms that shorter working days and better pay improves productivity and even profits, and several countries are in fact moving towards a 6 hour work day. 

India already has one of the most hardworking workforces in the world. The International Labour Organization reports that, in 2023, Indians will have the longest average workweek among the world's ten largest economies. Only Qatar, Congo, Lesotho, Bhutan, Gambia, and the United Arab Emirates have higher average working hours than India, which comes in at number seven in the world. In fact, due to the low rate of wages, most Indians are compelled to work 2 jobs just to make ends meet. 

The stark disparity in the CEO-worker wage gap in India must also be noted, where in large corporations CEOs earn 500 to 800 times the median employee remuneration. In fact, the Chairman of L&T received a salary of ₹51 crore in 2023-24, which amounts to 534.57 times the median salary of L&T employees.

The gendered impact of increased working hours must also be acknowledged. The statement made by the L&T Chairman, “What do you do sitting at home? How long could you stare at your wives?” highlights the invisibilization of women workers. Women not only contribute through paid labor but also shoulder the burden of unpaid domestic work at home, leaving them with virtually no leisure time. Extending working hours would only widen the disparity between male and female employees, exacerbating existing inequalities.

The Directive Principles of State Policy mandates that “the State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing that the health and strength of workers, men and women are not abused” and that “the State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work.”

While condemning such statements by Corporates, AICCTU calls upon the Union and all State Governments to enforce laws governing working hours strictly, ensuring that workers are not compelled to exceed the legally mandated limit of 48 hours per week, and take further steps must to protect the health and lives of workers, upholding their fundamental rights and dignity.

*AICCTU HQ*