A nationwide strike called by central trade unions saw a mixed response across India, impacting various sectors and states differently, with some areas experiencing disruptions while others remained largely unaffected.
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Rahul Gandhi met with farm union leaders to discuss concerns about the India-US trade deal and its potential impact on farmers' livelihoods.
'Workers are the people who create all the wealth in this country. How can you call them anti-national?'
Rising living expenses, fear of contract hiring cast shadow on real gains.
A joint forum of central trade unions has given a call for a nationwide strike on March 28 and 29, to protest against government policies affecting workers, farmers, and people. The Joint Platform of central trade unions held a meeting in Delhi on March 22, 2022, to take stock of the preparations in various states and sectors for the proposed two-day all India strike on 28-29 March 2022 against "the anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-national policies" of the central government, a statement said. The statement said that roadways, transport workers and electricity workers have decided to join the strike in spite of the impending threat of ESMA (Haryana and Chandigarh, respectively). Financial sectors, including banking and insurance, are joining the strike, it stated.
All India Trade Union Congress General Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta said the Common Minimun Programme was 'inadequate' and not 'acceptable'.
Leaders of the Delhi units of trade unions, including All India Trade Union Congress and Indian National Trade Union Congress, on Tueday charged the government with being indifferent towards the problems of Indian migrant workers and demanded a migration policy for them.
Bharatiya Janata Party-backed Bhartiya Majdoor Sangh boycotted the convention, reason for which was not known immediately.
The views of the trade unions who met the finance minister on Wednesday, run contrary to the demands of India Inc, which called for disinvestment of public sector enterprises to fund the widening fiscal deficit. They also suggested increasing corporate tax rate so that more money can be transferred from the rich to the poor.
The Congress attacked the Modi government, saying it now seems to be routine that India learns about its government's actions only from Trump or his appointees.
Mahadevan, who said that trade unions had dropped their plans to hold a protest during Chirac's upcoming visit, also accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of ignoring anti-Clemenceau pleas.
Ten central trade unions on Tuesday said they are going ahead with their planned nationwide general strike on November 26 and also announced their support to a two-day farmers' agitation next week. The meeting of the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions (CTUs) and Sectoral Independent Federations and Associations was held virtually on November 16, 2020. Unions expressed satisfaction over the tremendous response being received from workers and the people at large throughout the country to the ongoing campaign for the countrywide general strike on November 26, 2020, a joint forum statement said.
Talking to PTI Amarjeet Kaur, General Secretary of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), said, "The two-day nationwide strike by the joint forum of central trade unions has begun this morning". About the impact of the agitation, she said that the entire coal belt (mining area) is affected in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. She also said that there is a good response in industrial areas of Assam, Haryana, Delhi, West Bengal, Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bihar, Punjab, Rajasthan, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The AITUC official noted that the banks and insurance sectors are affected all over India, while steel and oil sectors are also seeing partial impact due to the strike. Kaur said that she has got preliminary reports that markets are closed in Odisha.
Finding that the draft common minimum programme was "inadequate", the central trade unions on Monday said it was not "acceptable" to them and laid out over a dozen demands to the new government headed by Prime Minster Manmohan Singh.
The BJP and the Opposition have engaged in a war of words over the implementation of the women's reservation bill, which aims to reserve seats for women in legislatures. The bill was defeated in the Lower House, leading to accusations and counter-accusations between the parties.
Former Union minister Dinesh Trivedi has been appointed as India's next High Commissioner to Bangladesh, signalling efforts to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
Trade unions on Tuesday went one step ahead of Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on the issue of CEOs' salaries suggesting their remuneration must be regulated by law as 'self-regulation is no remedy'.
The ten trade unions are National Trades Union Congress, All India Trade Union Congress, Hind Mazdoor Sabha, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, All India United Trade Union Centre, Trade Union Coordination Centre, Self Employed Women's Association, All India Central Council of Trade Unions, Labour Progressive Federation and United Trade Union Congress.
The deal shifts the US posture towards India from hostile to neutral, and that matters for growth, points out T T Ram Mohan.
The trade unions would jointly carry out demonstrations, sit-ins and other forms of protests on October 28 to focus on the government's economic policies which were leading to job losses and hiking the prices of essential commodities.
'Workers are being pushed into 12- to 14-hour shifts under poor conditions. These largely leaderless protests are likely to continue.'
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced that an interim trade agreement between India and the US is likely to be signed in March and operationalised in April, with chief negotiators meeting in Washington to finalize the details.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of corruption and land grabbing, promising action if the Congress party wins the upcoming elections in Assam. Gandhi also criticised the BJP's governance and economic policies.
The unions would give the notice for strike to the Government on August 4, All India Trade Union Congress' Andhra Pradesh unit General Secretary P J Chandrasekhar Rao told reporters in Vijayawada on Wednesday. Prior to that, the union representatives would meet here on July 21 to finalise their stragegy for the stir, he said. The strike call has been given by 56 unions and their affiliated units which have prepared a seven-point charter of demands, Rao said.
'The BJP and its allies can decide the fate of many candidates.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the BJP and RSS for undermining the Constitution and accused the TMC of failing to provide jobs in West Bengal during recent rallies.
The two-day nationwide strike called by central trade unions to protest the Centre's alleged anti-worker policies evoked mixed response all over country on Tuesday.
Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry and Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh also witnessed a tense atmosphere amid confrontation between the party workers.
BMS general secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said, "There are many anomalies in the draft rules on Code on Wages which need to be amended. The new rules are silent about many provisions clearly provided in the four Acts subsumed in the code."
'Even if the war ends tomorrow, which is unlikely, and we go back to the pre-war status quo, the world will still need some time to get over the sudden shock of oil price increases.'
Whether he comes to power or not, both his admirers and opponents agree on one thing -- Vijay may well turn out to be the 'X factor'.
Small parties have the capacity to play both ends against the middle. Puducherry could be heading that way, points out Aditi Phadnis.
The BJP has strongly criticized the Congress party after youth wing workers staged a protest at the India AI Impact Summit, alleging the demonstration was orchestrated to tarnish India's global image.
AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's relationship with US President Donald Trump, alleging that Modi is acting as Trump's 'slave' and jeopardising India's interests on trade, oil and foreign policy.
Rajya Sabha elections in Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana were marred by allegations of cross-voting and 'horse trading', leading to suspensions and warnings from the Congress party.
Trade unions said Jaitley's minimum wage announcement is completely inadequate
Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 12 noon on Friday after opposition members raised slogans demanding the resignation of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and protesting against the India-US interim trade agreement.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a strong attack on Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party, accusing them of compromising India's interests on the world stage and selling out farmers and the poor during their time in power.
The Indian government addressed opposition concerns regarding the West Asia crisis in an all-party meeting, outlining its strategy for ensuring the security of the Indian diaspora, fulfilling energy needs, and maintaining diplomatic relations with key partners. The government also dismissed Pakistan's reported mediation efforts.
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