The joint forum of Central Trade Unions has called for Bharat Bandh—a nationwide strike on 28 and 29 March 2022. Essentially, the All-India strike is to condemn the Government’s policies, which the Trade Unions consider anti-labor and anti-farmer by nature.
Road, Transport, and Power sector employees are also supporting the Bharat Bandh, despite the Essential Services Maintenance Act (Haryana and Chandigarh).
Power sector employees and engineers are in disagreement with the Government’s privatization policies. They want the Government to revert its decisions in UTs Chandigarh, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Daman Diu, and Puducherry.
They are also insisting on the withdrawal of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2021 and the inclusion of all employees appointed following the dissolution of the electricity board in the old pension scheme.
Meanwhile, Railway Unions and Unions of the defense sector are rallying support for the all-India strike in various locations.
Participation from Banking and Insurance sector Unions are likely to affect transactions as the dates of the Bharat Bandh come just after a weekend. So banks are likely to be shut for four days (26 -29 March) in a continuum.
Along with them, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha is offering support for a Rural Bandh across India.
The combined platform of Central Trade unions and Federations of India is reaching out to all sections of the society to come together to make the Bharat Bandh call successful—in the name of ‘Save people, Save Nation.’
On Tuesday, they held a meeting in Delhi to assess preparations for the two-day nationwide strike on March 28 and 29. They feel that the Government has got emboldened to enact policies unfriendly to the working class after its success in the recently held state elections.
They are notably the lowering of interest rate on EPF accumulation from 8.5% to 8.1%; Rise in petrol, diesel, LPG, Kerosine, and CNG prices; and Monetization of PSU-owned land bundles. However, the trade unions believe that the Government has held back its monetization activities merely because of the surging inflation and volatile market conditions owing to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
List of Trade Unions participating in the ‘Bharat Bandh’— The all-India strike on 28 and 29 March 2022:
Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS)
Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU)
Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC)
Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA)
All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC)
Trade Union Coordination Centre (TUCC)
All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU)
Labour Progressive Federation (LPF)
United Trade Union Congress (UTUC)
However, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, allied to the ruling BJP, would not participate in the Bharat Bandh.
Reference: Time Now News