24 factories shut down in last 3 years; 5012 workers lost job

As many as 24 factories have been permanently closed in the last three years in which over 5,000 workers lost their job, according to the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

A total of 5,012 workers lost their jobs between 2018 and 2020 due to the closure of the factories in nine states.

The data placed in Lok Sabha showed that the highest number of closures and affected workers were in Madhya Pradesh -- 3,738 lost jobs in seven units. Madhya Pradesh accounted for around 75 per cent of the affected workers.

Telangana came a distant second with 754 workers losing their jobs due to closure of factories.

In Himachal Pradesh, 233 workers lost their jobs due to closure of five factories, while in Rajasthan, 118 workers lost jobs due to shutting down of one factory. Uttar Pradesh had 107 such workers when one unit downed the shutters.

21 workers in Maharashtra were left jobless besides 18 in Odisha, 15 in Kerala and eight in Uttarakhand when one factory each in these states were closed.

The highest number of closures across the country was in 2018 when 11 factories were shut down affecting 2,105 workers. 2019 witnessed six factories closing down and 1,631 workers sacked, while 2020 saw 1,276 workers losing jobs when seven factories were closed down.

An official said the statistics were based on the information received by the Labour Bureau from Labour Departments of states and union territories.

As part of reviving closed factories, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said in a written reply in Lok Sabha that the RBI and the Centre have taken measures to infuse liquidity in the economy to sustain the market economy and raise the level of employment.

He also said the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojna (ABRY) incentivised creation of new employment along with social security benefits and restoration of loss of employment during the Covid-19 pandemic. The scheme reduces the financial burden of the employers of various sectors, including MSME and encourages them to hire more workers.

Under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), Gangwar added, the Centre has contributed both 12 per cent employer's share and 12 per cent employee's share under Employees Provident Fund (EPF), totaling 24 per cent of the wage for the wage month from March to August 2020 for the establishment having upto 100 employees with 90 per cent of such employees earning less than Rs 15,000.