By: Express News ServiceLudhiana | October 9, 2025 10:14 AM IST 3 min readThe industry leaders said the change would help improve compliance, reduce informal practices, and enable industries to sustain operations efficiently amid global competition.The textile and manufacturing sectors in Ludhiana have demanded that the central government review overtime payment norms in line with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards and global competitiveness benchmarks.A delegation, led by Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) president Upkar Singh Ahuja, met Vandana Gurnani, Secretary (Labour and Employment), Government of India, on Tuesday, urging the ministry to reconsider Section 59 of the Factories Act, 1948, which currently mandates overtime payment at 200 per cent of the normal wage rate. They proposed that the ceiling be rationalised to 150 per cent, bringing India’s system in line with international practice.The meeting saw participation of several prominent industry leaders, including Vinod Kumar, Administration department, CICU; J D Giri, Director, Shahi Exports; Updeep Singh Chatrath, CEO (Odisha Projects) and Resident Director-Delhi, Welspun; Ankur D Trivedi, Senior Vice-President, Arvind Limited; Rajesh Chopra, Senior Vice-President (Commercial) Vardhman Textiles Limited; Pankaj Sharma, Secretary General, Northern India Textile Mills Association (NITMA); and Anmol Gupta, Economist, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI).Sharing data, Upkar Singh said, “India’s overtime wage rate is much higher than competing economies such as China, Vietnam, the US, Brazil, Hungary, South Korea, Japan and France, where payments typically range from 125-150 per cent.”“The competitiveness of Indian industries, particularly labour-intensive sectors, such as textiles, apparel, and leather, depends on skilled workforce availability at a sustainable cost structure,” said Ahuja. “With rising absenteeism and periodic labour shortages, industries are compelled to rely on overtime to meet production deadlines and export commitments. Rationalising overtime rates will help maintain competitiveness while allowing workers to earn more through additional work hours,” he added.The delegation also referred to ILO Conventions No. 1 and No. 30, which recommend overtime pay at a minimum of 125 per cent of regular wages, stressing India’s current provisions are “out of sync with international norms”.The industry leaders said the change would help improve compliance, reduce informal practices, and enable industries to sustain operations efficiently amid global competition.Story continues below this ad“The delegation appreciated the constructive response of Gurnani and the ministry’s openness to consider the proposal. We hope that the government will take a ‘balanced view aligning workers’ welfare with India’s manufacturing competitiveness’,” Ahuja added.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd