Good that Rahul Gandhi supported Bharat Bandh, says AITUC Gen Secy Kaur

All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) general secretary Amarjeet Kaur on Wednesday welcomed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's decision to support the Bharat Bandh called by trade unions to protest against alleged anti-labour and other policies of the Central government.

"We welcome Rahul Gandhi's decision to support the Bharat Bandh. Many left parties have already given their support. Now, other political parties are also coming in our support. Political parties have given priority to the questions of the working class of the nation," Kaur told ANI.

Earlier today, Gandhi hailed the trade unions' 'Bharat Bandh' call and said that the "anti-people" and "anti-labour" policies of the Centre have created a 'catastrophic' unemployment scenario in the country.

"Modi-Shah Govt's anti-people, anti-labour policies have created catastrophic unemployment & are weakening our PSUs to justify their sale to Modi's crony capitalist friends. Today, over 25 crore workers have called for Bharat Bandh 2020 in protest. I salute them," Gandhi tweeted.

Talking about demands, the AITUC general secretary said: "Our first demand is regarding inflation and how to stop it. Secondly, the government is selling the public sector units continuously and they are even selling our infrastructure."

Kaur said the government snatched five crore jobs due to demonetisation instead of giving 10 crore jobs in the tenure of five years. Moreover, the government is prepared to snatch the jobs of around 93,600 telecom employees in the name of VRS, which is forced retirement.

Kaur said the government is trying to break 150-year-old labour laws. "We are demanding pension for all and also standing for the farmer's issues. We are against the commercialisation and privatisation of education," she said.

She said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing public meeting before 2014 had said that his government would improve GDP growth, employment opportunities, end corruption and other issues, but in vain.

Ten Central trade unions along with different federations called for a nationwide strike on Wednesday to protest against "anti-worker policies of the BJP government." The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) did not take part in the strike.