Trade unions claimed that the nationwide strike called for demanding higher minimum wages was a success on Friday. Normal life was disrupted in some parts of the country with stray incidents of violence also being reported here and there.
Industrial production and businesses were affected in the states of Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and in some places in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Telangana, government sources were quoted as saying by Press Trust of India.
Industry body Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) estimated the losses (arising due to the strike) to be around Rs. 18,000 crore. Mining and financial services were the worst affected. "Though the strike impacted sectors like transport, coal and non-coal mines, banking and insurance, steel and cement, among others, the overall response could be termed as only 16-18 percent of the country's workforce failed to report to work without prior intimation on Friday," a labour minister told the media.
Impact
According to the data compiled by the labour ministry, the impact of the strike was also felt in parts of Jharkhand, Odisha and Uttarakhand. However, across rest of the country, things were normal. The impact of the strike on industrial activities was as follows:
- In non-coal mining sector only 39 percent people reported to work.
- In banking and insurance sector, 50 percent employees did not turn up.
- In Odisha, 92 percent workers in financial sector skipped work.
- In coal sector, 51 percent workers were absent.
- In steel sector, 55 percent people went to work.
"The income tax department, however, surprised us all. Barring senior officials, hardly any presence was there in country's I-T offices. Nothing like this has happened before," labour ministry officials told PTI.
The impact of the strike was felt in state-run firms such as BSNL, MTNL, cement and power firm. However, ports and aviation sector saw no impact.
Trade unions' claim
The trade unions claimed the strike was the biggest ever in all sectors of the Indian economy such as the organised and unorganised sector, public and private sector, in central and state departments.
"Workers actively participated in the strike despite the use of state repression including the use of police force in some states like West Bengal, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, etc. The Trinamool government in West Bengal used the brutal force of its police to physically attack the workers on strike," CITU general secretary Tapan Sen said in a statement.
