People jostle to
board a local passenger train at a railway station in Secunderabad, the
twin city of Hyderabad, on September 2, 2015. — AFP photo Bengal, Tripura, Kerala, Karnataka among most affected
New Delhi, September 2
Normal life was affected in various
parts of the country, including West Bengal, Tripura, Kerala and Karnataka, as
10 Central trade unions today went on a day-long nationwide strike to protest
against changes in labour laws and privatisation of PSUs.
Trade union leaders claimed that
around 15 crore formal sector workers are on strike in support of their
12-point charter of demands. The BJP-backed BMS and NFITU, however, stayed away
from the strike.
The strike affected transport,
banking operations and other services in various parts of the country.
Normal working at banks was affected
as 23 public sector banks, 12 private sector banks, 52 regional rural banks and
over 13,000 cooperative banks have joined the stir except SBI, IOB, ICICI Bank,
HDFC Bank and Axis Bank who choose to stay away from the strike.
Over half of the 10 lakh banking
sector workers have gone on strike, All-India Bank Employees Association
General Secretary C.H. Venkatachalam said.
Cases of small skirmishes were
reported in West Bengal and the National Capital Region among other places. In
Kolkata, partial impact was seen on suburban trains, while shops, markets and
business establishments in most areas remained closed.
The state administration was plying
a large fleet of public buses, while partial impact was seen on operations of
private buses and taxis.
In the National Capital, commuters
faced problems as a large number of autos and taxis remained off the roads.
In Kerala, public and private bus
services, taxis and autorickshaws were off the roads. Only private cars and two
wheelers were seen on the roads. Shops, hotels and even small tea stalls were
closed in the state.
In Tripura, vehicles did not ply on
the roads, while markets were closed. Banks and other financial institutions,
schools and colleges were closed and attendance was thin in government offices
as well.
The entrance gates of ONGC facility
and the Tripura Jute Mill were closed.
In Karnataka, government transport
workers also joined the strike objecting to the proposed motor bill. Buses and
autorickshaws kept off the roads causing inconvenience to office goers and
those travelling to far of places.
While impact of strike was visible
in Puducherry, Tamil Nadu was largely unaffected.
Several services like public
transport were partially affected in Haryana. Commuters faced a lot of
difficulties, though private buses plied on their route. Bank customers faced
inconvenience.
All-India Trade Union Congress
Secretary D.L. Sachdev said in Gurgaon that as many as 5 lakh industrial
workers have gone on strike there.
He also said that workers did not
turn up at Maruti Suzuki plant today due to agitation and even Rajasthan
Roadways employees are in strike. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter plant in Manesar
remained closed.
“The strike has had an impact across
the country and even in Delhi. In several areas BMS people also joined the
strike.
Many local and affiliated unions
have also joined in the strike,” All-India Trade Union Congress General
Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta said.
He added: “The strike shows how much
people are disenchanted with the anti-worker policy of the government and its
failure to contain food prices as well as its failure to contain the economic
slowdown.”
In Goa, streets were deserted in the
morning as private buses and the state-run Kadamba Transport Corporation Ltd
(KTCL) buses remained off the roads.
In Delhi, people were seen waiting
for hours for autorickshaws in several parts of the city, and public services
like metro and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses witnessed surge in
number of passengers. People headed for offices, schools and colleges this
morning were impacted.
In Odisha, train services were
disrupted for some time at several places as protesters blocked tracks near
railway stations like Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur, Bhadrak, Chhatrapur and
Khalikot, East Coast Railway. Around 10 trains were delayed leaving passengers
stranded at various places.
The government yesterday appealed to
trade unions to call off the agitation in the interest of workers and nation.
The unions however decided to go ahead with strike as their talks with a
ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley last month did not
make any headway on their 12-point charter of demands.
Their demands includes urgent
measures to rein in price rise, contain unemployment, strictly enforce basic
labour laws, provide universal social security cover for all workers and
minimum wage of Rs 15,000 per month.
They are also demanding higher
pensions, stoppage of disinvestment in PSUs, ending contractorisation, removal
of ceiling on bonus and provident fund, compulsory registration of trade unions
within 45 days, no amendment to labour laws unilaterally and stopping FDI in
Railways and Defence.
Cong blames govt’s ‘utter apathy’
for strike
Expressing solidarity with the
day-long strike called by 10 central trade unions, the Congress today alleged
that government’s “utter apathy” has led to the stir.
“It seems just as the British wanted
to benefit the East India Company at the expense of millions of labourers of
this country, the Modi government wants to benefit 5-6 crony businessmen
friends of this government”, the party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told
reporters.
Alleging that the government has
failed to engage with the agitating unions, he said that the “obstinacy” on the
part of the Modi dispensation has led to the stalemate and the nationwide
strike today.
“Utter apathy and mindless quest for
changes in Labour laws to the disadvantage of workers and undue advantage of a
few crony capitalists, characterises this government’s attitude”, he said,
adding that “sabka saath, sabka vikas” was just a slogan. — PTI
