Trade unions across the country on Monday started a two-day strike and demonstrations against the government’s policies, with union leaders claiming that public sector bank, insurance, transport, telecom, coal, steel, oil and postal services were affected.
A joint platform of 10 Central trade unions had called for the “Bharat Bandh” to protest against what it termed the government’s “anti-worker” policies.
In a statement, one of the unions, the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), said: “The workers and employees in banks and insurance companies did not enter their workplaces anywhere in India. The coal, steel, post, oil, copper and telecom sector workers struck from the morning of March 28. Electricity workers went on strike in all the states, including in Maharashtra, where the government had invoked ESMA. The Kerala State unions began strike action from midnight of March 27-March 28 itself.”
There was a “bandh-like situation” in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Assam, Haryana and Jharkhand and substantial strike in the industrial areas in Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, it stated.
Successful, says CITU
Another one of the joint platform members, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), said the first day of the strike had been successful. Its secretary A.R. Sindhu said there was a “bandh-like situation” in Kerala, West Bengal, Tripura, Haryana and Tamil Nadu due to the public transport strike.
The unions protested against the government’s privatisation and monetisation plans for public sector undertakings and assets.
The All-India Bank Employees’ Association claimed that the strike was a success and called for the scrapping of the four labour codes, the restoration of the old pension scheme and income support of ₹7,500 a month to non-income tax paying households, according to a statement.
