Strike to cost Rs 20,000 cr of GDP: Assocham

Urges central trade unions to call off the two-day strike starting tomorrow

Industry body Assocham today urged central trade unions to call off the two-day strike starting tomorrow saying that the economy would take a hit of Rs 15,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore due to disruptions.

"The national economy, battling slowdown, can ill-afford this situation. In fact, the strike would aggravate the price situation because of disruption in the supply line of essential commodities," Assocham president Rajkumar Dhoot said in a statement.

Dhoot said the strike would cripple mostly service sector like banking, insurance and transport, besides industrial production. Even the agriculture sector would be affected as the movement of vegetables, a highly perishable item, would be disrupted.

The chamber estimated the loss based on the daily erosion of about 30-40 per cent of the gross domestic product for two days.

As per the advanced estimates of the CSO, the national GDP for the current financial year is projected to be about Rs 95 lakh crore.

In other words, it is Rs 26,000 crore per day and Rs 52,000 crore for two days. Of this, the strike would take its toll on at least 30 to 40 per cent of the two days' GDP, equivalent to Rs 15,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore, Assocham said.

The chamber predicted that states like West Bengal, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka and parts of Uttar Pradesh are likely to be affected significantly.

Besides, banking operations including cheque clearance and some segments of the financial markets would take a hit. Moreover, disruption in railways and other public transport in major cities would hit the movement of the workforce and cargo operations at the ports.