The two-day general strike of the 10 central trade unions (CTUs) ended on Tuesday. The trade unions claimed that more than 20 crore workers participated in the strike facing all odds, Essential Services Maintenance Act, intimidation and obstructions such as high handedness of police and Kerala High Court order prohibiting strike for BPCL and government employees.

According to the unions, employees in banking and insurance sectors stayed away from offices, across India. “The coal, Vizag steel, oil and LPG plants, Power Grid, copper, telecom sector, and cement sector workers struck work in a big way. Electricity workers went on strike in all the States, including in Maharashtra, where the Government had invoked ESMA. The port workers at Tuticorin and Paradip also struck work,” a statement of the CTUs said.

The statement added that private sector industrial units including many MNCs witnessed massive strike action in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Haryana. “Hydel power projects also witnessed massive strike in Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir,” the statement added.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha had supported the strike of workers. “The farmers and agricultural workers also participated along with striking workers in organising road block including many national highways and rail block actively,” the unions said.

Addressing a protest of workers on Parliament Street, the leaders of the unions said the BJP has put national resources and national assets on sale for the benefit of corporates. “The working class, which creates national wealth, is being made defenceless with draconian changes to labour laws, weakening trade unions, taking away their right to strike, doing away with factory inspections, and so on,” the leaders said.

Opposition unites

The matter was raised in both the Houses by MPs belonging to the Congress, Left parties and other Opposition parties. “CITU asserts the necessity for the workers, peasants and all sections of toiling people not only unitedly fight and defeat the neo-liberal policies, but to unitedly fight for alternative pro-people policies. It appeals to the workers and people to prepare for more united struggles to improve their living conditions as well as protect the self reliance and sovereignty of our country,” said former MP and CITU general secretary Tapan Sen.

Forward Seaman’s Union of India general secretary Manoj Yadav said seafarers are the lifeline of 95 per cent of the global cargo movement, but in India they have been demanding for regularisation of jobs and pension for all retired seafarers. “These demands are the burning issues of Indian seafarers,” Yadav said.

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