A large section of workers in the unorganised sector on Wednesday struck work, demanding a comprehensive job and social security cover for them and vowed to oppose the proposed legislation in its present form.

Strike near total
The all-India strike called by CPM-backed labour union CITU was near total in Left-ruled Kerala, Tripura and West Bengal, while it evoked partial response in the rest of the country.

CITU President M K Pandhe said around that 4.5 crore workers in the unorganised sector stayed away from work and claimed that the “support was beyond expectation” and good enough to “give a warning signal to the government”.

To intensify agitation
He said that if the government introduced the legislation for unorganised workers in the present form, Left parties will oppose it in Parliament and warned that labour unions would intensify their agitation in the coming days.

“All the trade unions opposed the bill and (Wednesday’s) strike was an individual action by CITU to demonstrate their anger. The sponsoring committee of the trade unions will meet here on August 19 and will chalk out a united movement,” he said.

Seeking justice
The CITU wants scientific formulation of statutory minimum wages and its strict enforcement, provision for job protection and grievance redressal besides coverage of unorganised workers under all basic labour laws.
The nationwide strike came amidst indication that the much-delayed legislation might take some more time to see the light of the day as the Group of Ministers (GoM) is still examining various aspects of the proposed measures.