Labour laws row: To strike or not to strike

September 2 will see an all India one-day strike that will engulf banks, road transport employees, the insurance sector and some manufacturing sector workers. Nearly 1.3 million railway employees are exempt from the strike.

The strike is against liberalisation of labour laws by state governments and a warning to the Centre that unions continue to be powerful. The Bharatiya Janata Party-affiliated Bharat Mazdoor Sangh has no choice but to join the strike. Otherwise, it will face the charge it is complicit in the government's attack on workers' rights. Oddly, no one is really saying whether investing some part of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation funds outside government securities is a good or a bad idea.