India lost 36.94 lakh man-days in 210 strikes and lockouts in public and private sectors in the past three years, with southern states Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka topping the list, according to data from the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
Public sector witnessed 89 strikes and 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, which was roiled by 121 of them leading to a loss of 17.03 lakh man-days.
According to the data, Kerala lost the highest number of man-days at 8.80 lakh in 20 strikes during the past three years with the private sector accounting for 7.67 lakh man-days in 17 strikes.
Tamil Nadu, which witnessed the highest number of strikes (51), came second with a loss of 4.39 lakh man-days during the period, followed by Karnataka with 3.78 lakh man-days in 17 strikes.
Madhya Pradesh, which lost 3.11 lakh man-days in 16 strikes, and Maharashtra, which lost 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, where public sector units saw nine strikes in which 2.94 lakh man-days were lost.
Kerala's private sector was hit by 17 strikes and it lost the maximum number of man-days at 7.67 lakh followed by Tamil Nadu (4.30 lakh in 49 strikes). Tamil Nadu topped in the number of strikes in the private sector as well, with the state witnessing 49 of them.
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A year-wise analysis showed that 2019 witnessed the highest 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 and the subsequent lockdown appeared to have had an impact 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.