'Two-day strike cost about Rs 1,400 cr'

Industry bodies in Karnataka have claimed that the two-day strike called by the central trade unions, which concluded on Thursday has caused, an estimated loss of Rs 1,350 crore to Rs 1,400 crore.

The Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) said in a statement that the strike called by the unions has cost a revenue loss estimated at over  Rs 1,000 crore to its member companies.

M Lakshminarayan, President, BCIC said: “At a time when the domestic manufacturing sector is tittering with low off-take of products and increasing inventories at their ends, the two-day strike called by the trade unions has further crushed this critical segment of the economy.”

The central trade unions had called for two-day mega strike as their talks with the government failed to reach a conclusion. The unions have demanded concrete measures for containing inflation, steps for employment generation, universal social security, and a minimum wage of Rs 10,000 per month along with daily allowance.
The BCIC claimed that the estimation of the loss was reached after an analysis of about 136 member companies mainly in the manufacturing sector.

“The actual loss would be much higher if the entire membership were taken,” the Chamber claimed.

H V Harish, Senior Vice President BCIC said: “The national economy, battling slowdown, can ill-afford this situation. In fact, the strike will result in additional inflationary pressure due to abrupt disruption in the supply of commodities and services.”

Speaking to Deccan Herald, FKCCI President Shiva Shanmugam said: “An average of Rs 1,400-crore has been lost by the industry across the State. It would have been worse if some garment units and APMCs not partially functioned on the second day of the strike.” He said that the strike had not only impacted the manufacturing sector but also service sectors like banking, insurance and transport.

Industry bodies felt that the companies and their employees now will have to work harder to recover this loss which is a burden also to the State economy.

The share of manufacturing in Karnataka GDP is only 25 per cent as per the latest State Economic Survey 2012-13 and if such instances continue, the Chambers feel, the GDP will decline further, thereby impacting job creation, which is a key goal of the government.