Nationwide strike called by trade unions had little impact

NEW DELHI: The nationwide strike called by trade unions on Wednesday had little impact on attendance across sectors with the banking sector seeing the highest level of absenteeism at around 33%.

Estimates from 20 major cities across the country that are available with the Centre showed that sectors such as railways, once controlled by unions, had no impact, as was also the case with air transport, including airport, and power.

There were of course pockets - such as Kolkata, Asansol and Chennai - where there was an impact on banks and insurance companies.

After banks, coal and mines and oil and gas with around 19% absenteeism in both came next, followed by insurance (16%). But it was not significant to affect operations. In any case, with the use of electronic clearing and fund transfer and ATMs, bank strikes are no longer as disruptive for citizens as they were in the past.

The numbers in most cities indicate that the unions have lost their appeal among workers. More than 200 unions from industries as diverse as defence and oil and gas to several banks and ports decided against participating in the nationwide strike.

The strike was called against the four labour codes enacted by the Centre, which have not yet been implemented as states are still in dialogue.

What has hurt the unions attempts to mobilise workers is states moving ahead and amending their labour laws to provide significant relaxations across multiple provisions - from allowing women to work in night shifts to raising the retrenchment threshold without govt approval from 100 to 300 workers.

Besides, only a handful of states have not responded on the labour codes, and that too for political reasons, as most of them chase investments, where companies often seek flexibility and lower inspector raj.