The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) Khurda district committee Monday staged a protest rally and demonstration at Master Canteen Square, opposing the state government’s recent move to extend labourers’ daily working hours from eight to ten.

Leaders, including Suresh Panigrahi, Pradeepta Nayak, Pushpa Das, Ramesh Jena, Satyananda Behera, and Shailesh Baliyarsingh, took part in the protest. The state government’s decision to amend the Factories Act, 1948, and the Odisha Shops & Commercial Establishments Act, 1956, permitting women to work night shifts, has faced strong criticism from trade unions, which called it a violation of labour rights and international conventions.

Hundreds of workers from different sectors joined the protest, alongside representatives of central trade unions an

See Full Page