Kerala assembly to debate Right to Disconnect for employees

Kerala may soon debate a “Right to Disconnect” bill aimed at limiting after-hours work communications for private employees. Chief Whip and Kanjirappally MLA Dr N Jayaraj is expected to move the private bill in the current session of the state assembly, The Hindu reported.

The Kerala Right to Disconnect Bill proposes that private sector employees should not be required to attend phone calls, emails, video conferences or text messages beyond their contracted working hours. The bill specifies that staff who exercise this right should be protected from disciplinary actions such as demotion or dismissal. It also states that the provisions would not override any existing law.

The draft legislation calls for a Private Sector Employment Grievance Redressal Committee in each district. As reported by Business Standard, the committees would be chaired by the regional joint labour commissioner, with the district labour officer as secretary and the deputy labour commissioner as a member.

The committees would be authorised to obtain reports from companies on employment practices, examine cases of layoffs citing financial reasons, address complaints of overtime work, and review applications for overtime pay. The bill also allows these committees to instruct companies to establish counselling facilities for workers.

Workforce response

Employee groups have supported the proposal. Prathidhwani, a welfare organisation of IT professionals in Kerala, wrote in a social media post that the bill represented a “landmark step” towards safeguarding employee rights. The organisation welcomed the provision for grievance redressal committees at the district level, The Hindu reported.

Workers in the state said the need for such legislation has grown since the pandemic. One IT professional told BusinessLine that before Covid-19, employees generally worked from offices on desktop systems, but the adoption of laptops and remote work had resulted in a constant work mode outside normal hours.

Legal experts have noted procedural difficulties in enacting a private member’s bill. Former director general of prosecution T Asaf Ali told The Hindu that passing such a bill into law would be complex. He said the draft nevertheless brings employee concerns into focus for wider debate in the assembly.