Meghalaya Cabinet Approves Night Shifts for Women with Safety Measures

By: WE Staff | Monday, 13 January 2025

•   Meghalaya allows women to work night shifts with enhanced security..
•   Factory license renewal period extended to 10 years to streamline processes.
•   Govt servants to receive up to six months additional leave for organ transplant.

The Meghalaya Cabinet has approved the amendments to the Meghalaya Factories Rules, 1980 which will now allow women to work night shifts with enhanced security measures.

It was stated by CM Conrad K. Sangma that this decision aligns with the Government of India’s ease of doing business initiatives. He said, "Previously, women were prohibited from working night shifts. With these amendments, women can now opt to work at night in factories, provided safety measures—such as CCTV surveillance and monitoring systems—are in place. Meghalaya is now the second state in the Northeast, after Assam, to implement this change,"

The extension of the factory license renewal period to 10 years was approved by the Cabinet. Sangma emphasized that this move is part of the central government's effort to streamline processes for businesses. Regular inspections and monitoring will ensure adherence to these new provisions.

Additional leave of up to six months for government servants undergoing organ transplantation was approved by the Meghalaya Cabinet, adding to the existing leave provisions.

Chief Minister Conrad Sangma stated, “The cabinet decided that government servants undergoing transplantation of human organs would be given additional leave of up to six months for that particular operation or transplantation to take place. This was over and above the other provisions for leave.”