NEW DELHI: Indian major trade unions have started a two-day countrywide strike against the beleaguered government’s economic reforms which they say as violations of labour laws.
Around a dozen major trade unions of the country have called the strike to protest high inflation, a fuel price increase and what they describe are anti-labour laws. The two-day strike is likely to affect financial services, mining and transport sector.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appealed to unions to call off the strike, warning it would cause a “loss to our economy” already poised for its slowest annual growth in a decade. However, negotiations held between a ministerial panel and union leaders broke down on Monday.
“As far as we have seen, the government has nothing to offer to labourers,” said Atridev Tiwari, general secretary of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (Indian Workers Union), one of the main unions leading the strike.
“It doesn’t matter what the prime minister says now because we cannot rely on his word. He says something and does something else.”
The protest is expected to have the most impact in the eastern West Bengal and southern Kerala states, where the unions are powerful and enjoy the most clout.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry said the two-day strike was expected to cause an estimated loss of 150 billion-200 billion rupees, hurting sectors such as banking, insurance and transport.
The government’s “big bang” reforms are aimed at reviving a flagging economy, as well as avoiding the threat of a downgrade in India’s credit rating.
PM Manmohan Singh said the reforms would “help strengthen our growth process and generate employment in these difficult times”.
DND
