'Millions' strike in protest at Indian government policies
- by Emilio Sims
- in Money
- — Jan 9, 2020
The trade unions have said around 25 crore people will participate in the nationwide strike to protest against the government's "anti-people" policies.
"We expect workers from petroleum, transport, electricity, engineering and other industries to join the strike in a big way".
"The membership of our bank employees in unions participating in the strike is very few, so the impact of the strike on banks operation will be minimal", State Bank of India (SBI) said in a statement on January 3.
Banking services like deposit and withdrawal, cheque clearing and instrument issuance, as well as ATM withdrawals, are likely to be impacted by the strike.
Amarjeet Kaur, a trade union leader, said workers were opposed to the proposed sale of natural resources and state assets.
Almost 25 crore people are likely to take part in the all-India strike on Wednesday to protest against the government's "anti-people" policies. The complete list of trade unions who have called for the nationwide strike tomorrow will be provided below.
The strike had significant impact in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Tripura, the trade unions said.
"The Ministry of Labour has failed to assure on any of the demands of workers which called a meeting on January 2". Some 10 unions from banking and insurance sectors and around 500,000 bank officials went on strike, claimed the unions.
Gouranga Chatterjee, organising secretary of the coal workers unions, said production at Coal India would be affected as the striking unions have a sizeable following. It has also advised PSUs to prepare a contingency plan to ensure the smooth functioning of the enterprises.
The trade unions taking part in the strike include the All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), Labour Progressive Federation (LPF), United Trade Union Congress (UTUC), Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and Trade Union Coordination Centre (TUCC).
