Schools, colleges closed in Kerala, violence in West Bengal

The two-day-long nationwide strike called by major trade unions against the alleged repressive policies of the NDA government has thrown life out of gear in several states.

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NEW DELHI: The two-day-long nationwide strike called by central trade unions against the alleged repressive policies of the Narendra Modi-led union government has begun to affect the normal life in several states. The 48-hour-long strike appears to be having a major impact in Left-dominated states of Kerala and West Bengal. READ FULL STORY

The strike is also quite visible in other states like Assam, Odisha, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Manipur Bihar, Rajasthan, Goa, Punjab, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Haryana.

The strike has been called by ten major trade unions to protest against the Narendra Modi government’s alleged anti-worker policies and unilateral labour reforms. According to reports, nearly 20 crore workers of the state and central government are expected to join the nationwide strike which has been called by 10 trade unions.

The strike has been called by a consortium of ten central trade unions and has received support from organisations like the AITUC, CITU, HMS, AIUTUC, TUCC, AICCTU, along with employees in the banking and insurance sector. Farm unions like All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) cand Bhumi Adhikar Andolan are also part of the strike. The trade unions have supports of almost all major independent federations of central employees, state employees and the employees of banks, insurance, telecom, and other service sectors representing the workers and employees of all the industries and services including transport services, both in organised and unorganised sectors.

The central trade unions during the convention held in September 2018 had given the call for a nation-wide strike accusing the government of “arrogantly ignoring” the 12-point Charter of Demands on minimum wage, universal social security, workers’ status and including pay and facilities for the scheme workers, against privatisation of public and government sector including financial sectors. Laying out their demands, the convention at the time also denounced the “communal and divisive machinations in society being carried on with the active patronage from the government”.

Here are the main points from the first of the two-day general strike called by major trade unions: -  

08 January 2019

22:33 IST

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16:26 IST

Members of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) protest inside Maidan metro station in Kolkata in support of the two-day nationwide strike called by Central Trade Unions demanding minimum wages and social security schemes among others.

West Bengal: Members of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) protest inside Maidan metro station in Kolkata in support of the two-day nationwide strike called by Central Trade Unions demanding minimum wages and social security schemes among others. pic.twitter.com/NkihQZRb0M

— ANI (@ANI) January 8, 2019