Opposing the BJP-led Union Government’s policies on new labour law, privatisation of public sector undertakings and other anti-people policies, the Joint Committee of Trade Union (JCTU) has given a call for a two-day nationwide general strike on Monday and Tuesday.
Addressing presspersons in Kalaburagi on Friday, district secretaries of AIUTUC Prabhudev Yelsanghi and S.M. Sharma said that the BJP-led government at the Centre has brought the livelihood of the people and the country’s economy on the brink of disaster.
Mr. Yelsanghi said that the trade union’s 12-point charter of demands included scrapping the four labour codes and national monetisation pipeline and doing away with privatisation in any form.
The Government should provide food and income support of ₹7,500 a month to non-income tax paying households and increase the budgetary allocation for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) Scheme and extend it to urban areas also, he demanded. The other demands include social security and minimum wage for ASHAs and anganwadi workers.
He urged the government reduce Central Excise duty on petroleum products, restore the Old Pension Scheme, regularise the service of contract workers and bring in equal pay for equal work for all.
In response to the nation-wide strike call, members of 10 trade unions will organise public meetings at various junctions in Kalaburagi on Monday. The trade unions plan to demonstrate outside the Kalaburagi Central Bus stand from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and take out a rally before holding a public meeting.
