Trade Unions' strike from Jan 8-9: Buses, autos to stay off roads in Bengaluru, banking services to be hit

The two-day strike has been called by ten major trade unions in protest against the Centre's alleged anti-labour policies.

Pic for representational use only

BENGALURU: Hundreds of commuters in the hi-tech city of Bengaluru are likely to face a harrowing time on Tuesday in view of a proposed two-day strike (Bharat Bandh) by the major trade unions in the country from January 8.

According to reports, buses and autos will stay off roads on Tuesday, aggravating problems for hundreds of daily commuters.

The two-day strike has been called by ten major trade unions in protest against the Narendra Modi government's alleged anti-labour policies.   

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and BMTC buses and private autorickshaws will not ply on Tuesday. Banking services across the state are likely to be affected in view of the Karnataka bandh on Tuesday. 

However, app-based cabs, airport taxis and Metro trains will operate in Bengaluru.

It is not year clear whether schools, colleges and other educational institutions and cinema halls will remain open in view of Bengaluru Bandh on Tuesday. 

Members of the All-India Trade Union Congress have said that they will hold demonstrations at Jigani, Bommasandra, Whitefield, Peenya and Doddaballapura.

The AITUC members will also stage a procession from Town Hall to Freedom Park beginning around Tuesday noon, said reports. 

The trade bodies have claimed that the 48-hour-long nationwide general strike on January 8-9 will be a “historic event”. 

As compared to the two-day national bandh of 2013 in which around 13-14 crore workers took part, this year, the bandh is expected to see large participation, with employees from various state and Central governments, along with various other sectors, also deciding to join it.

The strike has been called by ten major trade unions, including the All India Trade Union Congress, CITU, Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), SEWA and LPF.

The decision to organise a two-day general strike from January 8 was taken in the National Convention of Workers held on September 28, 2018.

Employees in major sectors such as the Railways, banks and electricity departments as well as those in the unorganised sector, including street vendors and auto and taxi drivers, are expected to be part of the 48-hour strike.

The failure to fulfill the promise of creating over 1 crore jobs a year has been an important reason cited by the trade unions for organising the strike against the Modi government. According to Labour Bureau statistics, 1.55 lakh jobs and 2.31 lakh jobs were created in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Another major reason cited by the trade unions is the rise in prices of various daily use commodities. 

The trade unions are also against the sale of public sector undertakings.