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.
BMS allies with breakaway faction of Congress-affiliated INTUC. This marks a new chapter in India's trade union movement
All India Trade Union Congress General Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta said the Common Minimun Programme was 'inadequate' and not 'acceptable'.
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 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.
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.
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.
Rising living expenses, fear of contract hiring cast shadow on real gains.
'Workers are the people who create all the wealth in this country. How can you call them anti-national?'
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.
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."
'Workers are being pushed into 12- to 14-hour shifts under poor conditions. These largely leaderless protests are likely to continue.'
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.
Trade unions said Jaitley's minimum wage announcement is completely inadequate
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.
The deal shifts the US posture towards India from hostile to neutral, and that matters for growth, points out T T Ram Mohan.
Employees and workers will meet on November 27 to protest against the recommendations
Small parties have the capacity to play both ends against the middle. Puducherry could be heading that way, points out Aditi Phadnis.
The unions term the introduction of fixed-term employment as a 'modern labour slavery system' introduced through the 'back door'.
The core issues to be settled -- access to Hormuz, Israel's aggression in Lebanon, the question of Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and compensation -- are thorny enough to require weeks of patient negotiation. The most likely outcome of the opening sessions is that both sides take the measure of each other, establish what is and is not negotiable, and return home without having broken anything. That would count as progress.
The Winter session of Parliament will be held from December 1 to 19, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Saturday, in what the opposition has described as an 'unusually delayed' and truncated session.
Ten central trade unions except Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh are observing one-day general strike on Thursday to protest against various government policies.
'India's farmers will be unable to compete with the US, given the subsidies that the latter provides its farmers.'
The debate over working hours flared up after Infosys Co-founder N R Narayana Murthy called for 14-hour workdays.
'Gandhi had given the call 'Do or Die'. And with all the leaders arrested, you had to be your own leader.'
Trade unions reiterate the call for countrywide general strike on September 2 against the "anti-worker and anti-people policies" of the government.
According to coal ministry officials, the Bill is likely to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2014 was brought in October this year in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision cancelling 214 coal blocks.
Luckily for us, a Russia that is desperate to stay relevant in an emerging multipolar world finds in India a reliable geostrategic partner. The Russian proximity to India also keeps China from exploiting its economic dominance vis a vis Russia, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The strike notices were given by workers' unions of various sectors such as coal, steel, oil, telecom, postal, income tax, copper, banks and insurance.
Major central trade unions, including financial institutions and state and central government employees associations, will go on a nationwide strike on February 24.
The Congress party has criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handling of GST reforms, calling them inadequate and demanding an apology for the tax imposed on essential items. They argue that the reforms are merely a 'band-aid' solution and that the government should address the states' demand for extended compensation.
With United States President Donald Trump reiterating his claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, the Congress on Wednesday asked what do the 'typically loquacious' Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have to say about this revelation and did they 'mortgage' India's security interests in the face of US 'pressure'.
The Left unions want concrete action and not just 'assurances'.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of rigging the Maharashtra assembly elections and expressed concerns about similar tactics being used in the upcoming Bihar polls. He alleged that the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar is an attempt to manipulate the election process.
IPO bound HMIL, which is also from South Korea, had faced severe labour unrest for nearly a decade till the realisation -- a worker's union cannot be avoided -- dawned on it.
The editorial came amidst the ongoing tussle between Arlekar and the Marxist party-led Left Democratic Front government over the usage of 'Bharat Mata portrait' during official functions being held in Raj Bhavan.
'Samsung declared they would not allow the presence of any trade union.' 'This is unacceptable as the rule of law in India permits employees to have a trade union.' 'So, the crux of the strike is this.'
Senior CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said the gap between the Left and United progressive Alliance was widening.
'Trump is not shy when he is frustrated with countries'
A B Bardhan, who steered the CPI during the turbulent period of coalition politics in the 1990s, died in New Delhi on Saturday night.
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