What do you mean by the term 'Lockout'?

Under Section 2(u) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (formerly Section 2(l) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947), a 'lock-out' means the temporary closing of a place of employment, the suspension of work, or the refusal by an employer to continue to employ workers. It is used as a bargaining weapon to make workers accept the employer's terms, so the answer is the employer closing the factory to force acceptance of imposed terms. Permanent shutting down is 'closure', and a collective stoppage of work by workers is a 'strike'.