Bihar’s Double Salary Rule Offers 2× Pay for More Than 8 Hours of Duty
The Bihar government has formally announced a new rule for the workers in Bihar factories. The new Double Salary Rule will ensure that the workers are paid double wages if they are made to work more than 8 hours in a day or more than 48 hours a week.
This is to protect the factory workers’ rights and also prohibit the factory owners from exploiting the workers into doing overtime. Bihar’s Double Salary Rule will apply to all the 8,000 registered factories under the Labour Department across the state.
We have covered everything about Bihar’s Double Salary Rule in this article including who will be benefitted, how overtime pay will be calculated, formation of Joint Safety Committee and details about Safety Officers. You can use the following Table of Contents to navigate as per your preference:
Table of Contents
What is Bihar’s Double Salary Rule?
The Bihar government has strictly announced a new policy under which no factory worker can be made to work more than 8 hours in a day or 48 hours in a week without additional payment. 8 hours is the limit, if they work beyond that, the factory owner must pay them twice the hourly rate. This will benefit over two lakh laborers employed across 8,000+ registered factories in Bihar. The 8 hour work slot also includes breaks, machine shutdown time, or shift changes.
Deployment of Safety Officers in Large Units
Bihar’s Double Salary Rule doesn’t only stop at additional payments. It also talks about workplace safety. Dedicated Safety Officers will be deployed at large factories that employ 500 or more workers. And for factories working with hazardous materials, the rule is even stricter. One safety officer must be deployed if such a factory has more than 250 workers. The Safety Officers will take a note of all the safety practices and risky conditions. This is important to safeguard the rights of the workers.
Formation of Joint Safety Committees
Moreover, the Bihar government has also announced the formation of safety committees in large factories. These committees will have representatives from both the employer and the workforce. This will give a platform to voice out the concerns of both the parties. The main aim will be to monitor health and safety conditions at the factory.
Who Will Benefit and When
The new rules are applicable for all the already operating factories and also for the future registered factories. Any worker who works overtime will be compensated with double the hourly pay. This will enforce ethical labour laws and prohibit the exploitation of the workers. Bihar’s Double Salary Rule is effective immediately across the state. It will majorly benefit the workers from manufacturing hubs across Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, and Rohtas.
This is expected to reduce exploitative practices, especially in manufacturing hubs across Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, and Rohtas. Workers are already being informed through factory-level awareness drives.
Conclusion
The Bihar government is actively working towards improving the condition of the working class and the youth. They have announced the formation of a Youth Commission also. The commission will be responsible for suggesting ways to empower the youth of Bihar – be it employment or other opportunities.
Additionally, they increased the salary of the village heads or Mukhiyas as well. And now this rule of providing double pay will help in curbing the unethical exploitation of the workers at factories and other manufacturing units. This will also reinforce the labour laws that are needed to be followed.
Recently, Bihar government has also increased the salaries of Gram Kachahari Secretaries because they realised that the amount was not at par with the current market rate and their workload. You can get the details here.
I’m a final-year engineering student with a deep interest in current affairs, politics, and international issues. Writing news is my part-time passion, where I focus on sharing credible and well-researched stories. Every article I publish is backed by verified sources and multiple levels of fact-checking to ensure accuracy and trustworthiness.
