New Delhi: Employees and workers affiliated with 10 central trade unions went on a day-long strike Wednesday, but essential services remained unaffected.
There were reports of the strike impacting a select few services in Kerala, Jharkhand, and Puducherry.
The forum has claimed that 25 crore workers are being mobilised for the “general strike” in protest against the new labour codes, along with other issues.
All India Trade Union Congress General Secretary Amarjeet Kaur told PTI that the general strike started across the country Wednesday morning and she has received reports and pictures of the agitation from states, including West Bengal, Kerala, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Bihar.
She said banking, postal, and electricity services will be affected by the strike.
She further said the farmers’ unions in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan will also hold protest in their areas.
The unions’ demands include doing away with the four labour codes, contractualisation, privatisation of PSUs, increasing minimum wages to Rs 26,000 per month, as well as the demands of farmer organisations for minimum support price for crops based on Swaminathan commission’s formula of C2 plus 50 per cent, and loan waiver for farmers.
In West Bengal, the government has made arrangements to ensure that normal life was not impacted during the strike.
There were efforts to block roads and trains in certain parts of the state but police and administration made elaborate security and transport arrangements to ensure normal life.
Many parts of Kerala, which is ruled by the CPI(M), came to a standstill due to the strike. The strike has received strong support from trade unions and Left-leaning organisations in the state.
In Puducherry, privately operated buses, autos and tempos were off the roads due to the strike. The managements of private schools declared a holiday as a precautionary measure, according to sources. Shops, establishments, vegetable and fish markets remained closed.
PTI
