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force from low-value added activities to high-value added activities. Existing labour policy envisages Industry and Labour
the creation 15 lakh new jobs in the coming five years, a unified and consolidated legislation for
social security schemes, reprioritisation of allocation of funds to benefit vulnerable workers, long
term settlements based on productivity, labour law reforms in tune with the times, amendments to
Industrial Disputes Act, revamping of curriculum and course content in industrial training and policy
progress monitoring.

Composition of Workers

3.159 The labour community in Kerala mainly consists of those who are engaged in the informal
sector (loading & unloading, casual work, construction work, brick making, self employment etc),
traditional industries (coir, cashew, handloom, beedi etc), manufacturing sector (small, medium and
large industries), IT industry, units in export promotion zones and those who are seasonally employed.

Industrial Relations

3.160 Healthy relation between industry and employees is a key to the progress and sustained
industrial development. The responsibility of the Labour Department is to aid and maintain a
harmonious balance between the labourers and management to maintain conducive atmosphere for
achieving the objective of industrial growth and prosperity in the state.

Fig 3.12
Man-days lost due to strikes and lockouts

Source: Labour Commissionerate,GoK.

3.161 The concept of labour militancy in the state has reduced significantly over the years. The man-
days lost due to strikes of the labourers in the state for the current year (as on 30.09.2014) is 75.6

thousand against 2.68 lakh in the previous year. Likewise in the case of mandays lost due to lock out,
the figure for the current year is 2.22 lakh while it was 7.41 lakh in 2010.This is despite the fact that for
the last ten years, the number of working factories has been increasing year over year. Appendix 3.53

& Appendix 3.54.shows the details of man days lost due to strikes and lock outs in Kerala.

Economic Review 2014