Strike had minimal impact on public life: Dattatreya

Hyderabad, Sep 2 (PTI) Impact of the trade unions’ strikeon general public life was "minimal", Union Labour MinisterBandaru Dattatreya said today. The 10 central trade unions today observed a one-daynationwide strike protesting against "anti-worker" changes inlabour laws and the Centre’s "indifference" to their demandsfor better wages. Dattatreya said the impact of the strike was high inKerala and Tripura, while it was partial in Madhya Pradesh,Telangana, Odisha and Jharkhand. "After reviewing the strike situation, the overall impactof the strike on general public life is minimal. I opine thatit reflects pro-labour and pro-Narendra Modi government(sentiment)," Dattatreya told PTI. The minister said the people of the country have reliedupon Modi government for its "continuous efforts" onemployment generation and social security, especially for theunorganised sector which constitutes 93 per cent of workforce. "The government is leaving no stone unturned to bringlabour reforms," he added. Due to the strike, the percentage of absent personnel inbanking sector stood at 50 per cent, followed by 45 per centin coal sector and 30 per cent in transport, telecom, oiland gas sectors, the minister said. Earlier, the central trade unions claimed that the strikewas successful as around 18 crore workers came on the streetsto support the agitation, despite only partial impact in somestates like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. While the BJP has asserted that workers rejected thestrike call, the Congress has accused the Modi government ofbringing anti-labour policies like ‘hire and fire’ whichprompted all major trade unions to call for a strike. PTI GDKVVK NSKABM