While the political class stands divided, the trade union wings of Congress, BJP and Left parties on Tuesday came together to announce a country-wide ‘jail bharo’ on December 18-19, followed by a two-day general strike on February 20-21, 2013.
At a national convention held here, 11 Central trade unions adopted a declaration seeking a check on price rise, against disinvestment of public sector undertakings, implementation of labour laws and social security for unorganised sector workers.
They also decided to hold a joint ‘March to Parliament’ on December 20, to demand equal pay and other benefits for contract workers, minimum wage of Rs 10,000, trade union registration within 45 days among others.
The convention also flayed the Government for “gifting natural and mineral resources of the country to corporates and MNCs paving the way for their loot.”
“We have been forced to go on strike due to the total non-response of the Government to address the burning issues of the working people,” said a union member.
On February 28, all the unions had gone on a one-day strike, but the Government seems to be totally indifferent towards the miserable plight of workers, she said.
The unions that will take part in the strike include INTUC, AITUC, CITU, BMS, HMS, Independent Federation of Trade Unions, SEWA, and UTUC.