Left agitation likely to paralyse banking, rail, telecom services
NEW DELHI: The Left trade unions and their affiliates have threatened a countrywide “mother of all strikes” on Wednesday. The strike will involve 10crore workers, including those from the unorganised sector, peasants and central and state government employees, on a six-point charter of demands and protesting the UPA government’s economic and foreign policies.
The leaders claimed banking, telecom, IT, railway and insurance services and airports and defence establishments will be crippled. The strikers would also resort to rail and rasta rokos.
Mumbai may for the first time witness picketing of state government offices by maid servants and other domestic hands.
CPI(M) politburo member and Citu president MK Pandhe said for the first time, the newly-formed “domestic servants union” in Mumbai, Pune and Nashik comprising some 30,000-odd members will gherao government offices.
He said the All-India Federation of Atomic Energy Employees, which had opposed the Indo-US nuclear deal, will also join the strike.
AITUC president and CPI leader in the Lok Sabha Gurudas Dasgupta said, “We are not sparing the IT sector either. It is an all-out strike. The only exemptions are ambulance, milk, newspapers and electricity.”
Citu secretary Tapan Sen said six crore people took part in the last such strike on December 14, 2006. He said there were talks of prime minister Manmohan Singh reviving economic reforms after the withdrawal of support by the Left. “The workers have taken it as a challenge, so thousands of employees of steel plants and collieries will also join the strike.”
Dasgupta said, “We have been compelled to call this strike because this government purposefully ignored all our suggestions with regard to economic policy. They cynically rejected the voice of dissent.”
Threatening an “outbreak of strikes and agitations” if the government did not respond to the August 20 countrywide strike, he said, “Our action will result in serious dislocation of economy and the government will be responsible for it.”
Meanwhile, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) has extended “full support” to the strike.
k_benedict@dnaindia.net
