India lost 36.94 lakh man-days in 210 strikes in three years

India lost 36.94 lakh man-days in 210 strikes and lockouts in public and private sectors in the past three years with south Indian states Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka topping the list, according to Ministry of Labour and Employment data.

The public sector lost the highest number of man-days at 19.91 lakh between 2018 and 2020 though the number of strikes was less compared to the private sector. The private sector lost 17.03 lakh man-days.

The public sector witnessed 89 strikes during this period while the private sector saw 89 strikes, the report prepared by the Ministry of Labour using the returns and clarifications received by the Labour Bureau.

According to the data, Kerala witnessed the highest number of man-days lost at 8.80 lakh in 20 strikes during the past three years with the private sector accounting for 7.67 lakh man-days lost in 17 strikes.

Tamil Nadu, which witnessed the highest number of 51 strikes, came second with 4.39 lakh man-days lost followed by Karnataka 3.78 lakh man-days lost in 17 strikes.

Madhya Pradesh ( 3.11 lakh man-days lost in 16 strikes) and Maharashtra (3.09 lakh in 19 strikes) were also in the top-five list of states where the maximum number of man-days lost took place due to strikes.

When it comes to the public sector, Karnataka had the highest number of man-days lost at 3.77 lakh in 16 strikes. The state had just one strike in the private sector in which 1,049 man-days were lost during the past three years.

Karnataka was followed by Assam's public sector units saw nine strikes in which 2.94 lakh man-days were lost.

Kerala's private sector saw the maximum number of man-days lost at 7.67 lakh in 17 strikes followed by Tamil Nadu (4.30 lakh in 49 strikes). Tamil Nadu had the highest number of strikes at 49 in the private sector.

A year-wise analysis showed that 2019 witnessed the highest number of loss of man-days in both private -- 5.70 lakh man-days lost in 41 strikes -- and public sectors -- 9.46 lakh man-days lost in 41 strikes.

The Covid-19 pandemic, subsequent lockdown and restrictions appeared to have an impact on strikes in 2020 as only 15 strikes were reported in the public sector in which 1.98 lakh man days were lost. In the private sector, the number was 85,478 man-days lost in 15 strikes.

Among the states, Karnataka had the highest loss of man-days (94,017) in the public sector in 2020 followed by Rajasthan (67,800 in two strikes). In the private sector, Tamil Nadu lost 80,130 man-days in eight strikes while Karnataka lost 1,049 man-days.

In 2018, the public sector lost 8.46 lakh man-days while the private sector lost 10.47 lakh.