JOIN US All central trade unions, except the RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), declared that there would be a total strike on Wednesday (September 2). It will cover all private and government sectors, except the railways.
They said that factories, post offices, banks, transport sector, schools, colleges, hospitals, and petrol and gas supplying agencies will be closed. They claimed that the strike will also affect flights.
Special services like fire service, movement of dairy products and ambulances will be exempted.
“This is a call for united actions by 10 central trade unions against the anti-worker policy of the government. State-level trade unions have also extended their support. We expect it to be the biggest-ever strike in the country,” said senior trade union leader and president of AITUC, Gurudas Dasgupta.
“We are sorry that BMS has walked out of the strike. Their decision is political. They decided to support the government. We appeal to them to join the strike and if they stay out, we expect them to be neutral and not oppose it,” he added.
This would be the first time in recent years when the BMS will be staying out of a strike.
The BMS has a substantial base in banking and other sectors. However, CITU president A K Padmanabhan and general secretary and MP Tapan Sen claimed that their staying out will affect the strike only marginally.
Leaders accused the inter-ministerial panel headed by Arun Jaitley of not accepting demands of the workers. “The government said that it would implement minimum wage and other social security cover to the workers, but the new labour laws that are in the pipeline will send 70 per cent of workers outside the purview of labour laws. Only 30 per cent of the workers will benefit,” said INTUC vice-president Ashok Singh.