Employees of the central and state governments will strike work on May 21 to protest the economic policies of privatisation and liberalisation of the Union government.

The call for the day-long strike was given by the All India State Government Employees Federation and the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers after a joint convention in New delhi on Tuesday.

"The strike will begin in Delhi on May 21 and be observed right to the block level in villages crippling the government machinery," Sukhomal Sen, AISGEF general secretary, told reporters.

"We are protesting against the Centre's policies of downsizing and liberalisation and the decision to freeze new recruitments in government services," he said.

The strike by government employees "will hit them (the government) so hard that they will have to change," CCGEW general secretary S K Vyas said.

Expressing concern over the decision to make pension a contributory policy and stoppage of medical benefits to retired workers, Sen demanded a 'policy reversal' by the government at the earliest.

Charging the government with practicing improper policies by impounding dearness allowance, curtailing bonus and retrenching workers, Sen alleged that the state governments had been 'curtly directed' to follow these policies.

Over 7.5 million state and 2 million central government employees are affiliated to these organisations.