Banking and transport workers on strike against new labour policies -Governance Now

Banking and transport workers on strike against new labour policies

Trade unions are demanding urgent measures for containing price-rise, universal social security cover for all and minimum wages of not less than Rs 15,000 per month

Jasleen Kaur | September 2, 2016 | New Delhi

#Banking #transport #coal #workers #strike #price-rise #social security #minimum wages

Services like banking and public transport were largely affected on Friday as more than a million workers across various sectors were on a day-long nationwide strike, protesting against new labour policies and demanding better pay.

The central trade unions including the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India Trade Unions Congress (AITUC), brought public life in the country to a standstill. Workers of the state-run Coal India are also part of the strike.

Speaking with Governance Now, Ashok Singh, general secretary INTUC said that the massive strike has been called to protest against the authoritarian way of the NDA government. “We had submitted a 12 point memorandum to the government last year. A committee was formed under the chairmanship of Arun Jaitley. It has been over a year now and not a single meeting has been called. We gave them enough time to take action.”

Singh said that the Narendra Modi-led NDA government has been taking decisions against the working class. Also, they have made the changes in the labour laws without taking the trade unions in confidence.

A 12-point charter of demands was submitted to the Centre last year. The demands included urgent measures for containing price-rise, universal social security cover for all workers, minimum wages of not less than Rs 15,000 per month, assuring enhanced pension not less than Rs 3,000 per month for the entire working population and stopping disinvestment in central and state PSUs.

The NDA government aims to raise over Rs 55,000 crore through disinvestment this financial year. It also plans to shut down some of the loss making companies. On Tuesday finance minister Arun Jaitley gave assurance to the employees that bonuses for the last two years will be released soon and it will also increase the minimum wages for unskilled labourers.

Jibon Roy, general secretary, All India Coal Workers Federation and former Rajya Sabha member, says the strike is mainly a consolidation against reforms which are taking shape to bring slavery.

“Character of reforms is colonial. They are also exploiting the caste system for getting low cost labour,” he adds.

He says for permanent workers, the wage level is not according to the price rise. Also, more number of contractual workers is taken on board who do not getting enough wage. “The government is not creating reform policies for us. The focus is on the industries and their growth,” he adds.

Comments

Other News

UPI completes 10 years of digital payments revolution

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launched on August 25, 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has completed 10 years of transforming digital payments in India. UPI has emerged as the backbone of India’s digi

Here’s an I.D.E.A. for career growth and success

Success in today’s professional organisation is no longer solely determined by academic qualifications, technical expertise or years of experience. While these attributes do matter, organisations increasingly value individuals who demonstrate the right mindset and behavioural qualities. The ability

PM interacts with CEOs, founders of space startups

Prime minister Narendra Modi interacted with CEOs and Founders of 20 Space Startups at Seva Teerth on Friday. CEOs of leading companies in the space sector working in diverse fields ranging from building rockets and reusable semi-cryogenic launch vehicles, avionics, satelli

From one cow to a dairy business

In 2012, Anita Dash wasn`t dreaming of building a dairy brand. She wasn`t studying business models or planning market expansion. Like countless mothers across India, her focus was on something much simpler: giving her children a better future. At the time, her most valuable

Ethanol blending: The two sides of a story

India`s crude oil consumption is estimated to be around 88.5% imported from abroad. This one single figure is also responsible for why ethanol has become both an economic strategy and fuel policy at the same time. In an economy like India, which depends so heavily on foreign oil, any increase in internat

Food inflation: Not a macroeconomic statistic but a developmental indicator

India`s retail inflation shows a reassuring picture at first glance. According to the latest data, Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation edged up to 4.38% in June 2026 from 3.93% in May 2026, but continued to remain within the Reserve Bank of India`s (RBI) target band of 4% (+/- 2%). However, beneath this