Central Trade Unions on Tuesday began a two-day nationwide strike to protest against the government’s alleged anti-worker policies and unilateral labour reforms.
“The strike is quite visible in Assam, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Manipur Bihar, Rajasthan, Goa, Punjab, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Haryana -- particularly in the targeted industrial areas and different mines,” Amarjeet Kaur, General Secretary of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), told PTI.
She said that some states’ transport departments, taxi drivers and auto-rickshaw drivers have gone on strike for two days while Railway workers are holding gate meeting bearing black badge to express their solidarity.
Kaur said that Jawaharlal Nehru University student unions have expressed their solidarity with trade unions; and other educational institution are expected to support the strike.
She also informed that transport department in Bhopal is closed completely and Haryana Roadways is also participating in the strike.
As many as 10 Central Trade Unions (CTUs) have joined hands to go on a two-day nationwide strike from Tuesday. 20 crore workers are expected to join the strike.
This is the largest number of workers from formal and informal sectors joining a strike against anti-people and anti-worker policies of the BJP-led central government, she stated.
She informed that sectors like telecom, health, education, coal, steel, electricity, banking, insurance and transport are supporting the strike.
The March
The unions will go on protest march from Mandi House to Parliament in New Delhi on Wednesday. Similar protests would be done across the country.
Kaur had said the CTUs are also opposed to unilateral labour reforms.
The 10 CTUs which have gone on strike include INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC. RSS affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) will not participate.
“The government has failed to create jobs and grossly ignored unions’ 12-point charter of demands. The Group of Ministers headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on labour issues has not called unions for any discussion since September 2, 2015 strike,” Kaur had said on Monday.
In a joint statement, the CTUs had also alleged that the government undermined tripartism and continued its “aggressive attack with arrogance on the lives and livelihood of the working people.”
The unions are also opposed to the proposed amendments in Trade Union Act, 1926, saying those are irrational and extremely damaging to the independent functioning of unions.
The unions claim that farming communities through their associations have also extended support to the strike.
Telangana
More than 20 lakh employees and workers of public, private and unorganised sectors in Telangana are expected to participate in the two-day nation-wide strike called by ten central trade unions against the “anti-people” policies of the Centre, a senior CITU leader said Tuesday.
Ruling TRS party-backed trade bodies in Singareni Collieries Company Limited and Telangana State Road Transport Corporation may not participate in the strike, he added.
Read More | Public transport hit as Kerala joins nationwide strike
Karnataka
While buses of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) stayed off the roads in most parts of the state causing inconvenience but private buses, auto, taxi and metro services were available as usual.
Mixed response to strike have been reported so far from Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad among others. In many districts, holiday was declared in schools and colleges, with examinations being postponed.
Very few Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses were seen plying on the roads.
The unions have decided to hold a protest march from Town Hall in the city to Freedom Park on Tuesday and, on Wednesday, from Town Hall to the Raj Bhavan.
Describing the strike as “illogical, irrational and politically-motivated” move called by “frustrated elements”, the state Bharatiya Janata Party has called upon the people to reject it and carry on with their daily activities
Mumbai
Over 33,000 employees of Mumbai’s civic transport undertaking BEST went on an indefinite strike since midnight even as the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) administration and an industrial court declared the strike as “illegal“.
The BEST has a fleet of over 3,200-red-colour buses which criss-cross the metropolis and also operate services in the neighbouring Thane district and Navi Mumbai.
With its employees having gone on strike, the cash-strapped BEST is likely to face a loss of Rs 3 crore a day, a source said. Shashank Rao, leader of the BEST Workers’ Union, which has called the strike, alleged that the transport body’s administration showed a lackadaisical approach in resolving the stalemate and that the employees had no option but to go on strike.
An industrial court had on Monday declared the strike as illegal and restrained the labour unions and BEST staffers from going ahead with their protest. But, Rao said they had not received the copy of the court order till they went on strike.