Panaji, May 8 (IANS): Factories in Goa have been allowed to extend their work shifts to 12 hours from the existing 8 hours, according to a government notification on Friday, citing lack of adequate labour as the cause for the extension.

"There are restrictions on movement of workers leading to shortage of workers thereby causing the factories to deal with an exceptional pressure of work. There is a need for relaxing certain provisions of The Factories Act, 1948 thereby extending the working hours for optimum utilization of the workers in the factories which have been allowed to operate during the shutdown," the notification issued by Chief Inspector of Factories and Boilers Vivek Marathe said.

The notification also said that the extension of the work shift would enable factories to overcome the handicap of labour shortage.

As part of the notification, factories may also extend working hours to sixty hours in a week and the changes would be effective up to July 31.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant as well as captains of industry and business, have urged migrant workers not to leave Goa for their home state despite the Covid-19 pandemic, even as more than 80,000 workers have registered with state government agencies seeking return home.

Sawant has also said that the exodus of workers, would severely impact several industrial sectors in Goa.