After Delhi, Mumbai may be the next city in India to be allowed extended working hours for retail establishments.
The Retailers Association of India has been holding talks with the Labour Department of the Maharashtra Government to extract permission for extended retail hours in the state.
Gibson Vedamani, CEO, RAI, said while a few retailers have approached the government individually and got permission to keep their shops open 24x7, the association was now trying to have this extended to all retail outlets in the state.
At present, all retail outlets in the state have to shut by 9.30 pm, making it difficult for people who work late hours to do shopping during the week.
BPO employees especially face this problem with only weekends left for shopping. As a result, most outlets tend to be crowded on weekends.
Vedamani explains that once retailers have the option of deciding their working hours themselves, it is up to them to decide what time they want to shut.
"Most stores would not stay open beyond 1 am or so, and that too mainly on weekends which see the maximum rush," said Vedamani.
In Delhi for instance, shops are allowed to stay open till 11 pm, but only those, which see enough business at those times are doing so.
Not only would this be convenient to the shoppers, who would have the flexibility of shopping whenever they are free, for the retailers too, it would be easier to handle crowds which would then get spread out through the day.
He added that the biggest concern was related to labour issues, and they have told the government that the staff would continue to work in 8-hour shifts.
"This way in fact more employment would be generated as more people would be required to work the additional hours as well as boost consumption in the state," he said.
The RAI is to meet Commissioner of Labour of the Government of Maharashtra next week, when they hope to reach a consensus on the issue.
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