All central trade unions barring the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) have called for a general strike today.
Banks and insurance companies will be paralysed today. The trade unions will demonstrate outside the Life Insurance Corporation office in Delhi against the economic policies of the government, especially privatisation and globalisation.
The strike is being called at the instance of the National Platform of Mass Organisations (NPMO) which has representatives from the Hind Mazdoor Sangh (HMS), front organisations of Centre for Indian Trade Unions (Citu) and All India Trade Union Congress.
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The demands of the protestors include:
l Roll back budget proposals and reformulate economic policy to benefit the people and country.
l Halt reckless entry of multinationals.
l Stop privatisation, disinvestment and corporatisation. Rescind steps already taken in that direction.
l Reopen closed industries and revive sick ones.
l Protect small-scale industries and traditional industries from the onslaught of big business.
l Reintroduce Essential Services Management Act (Esma).
l Take appropriate steps to bring landlords into the tax net. Increase direct taxation on monopolies, multinationals and corporates.
l Initiate strong action for recovering loans from banks.
l Implement measures for land reforms.
l Increase investment for agri-industrial development research and irrigation.
Explaining why they were not joining the strike, BMS leader Laxman Reddy said: "We don't believe one-day strikes achieve anything except slowing down the economy for which the nation has to pay.
While we agree with the strikers that the economic policies of the government will hurt the interests of workers, we believe we must educate the workers not prevent them from working."
He said the common man was unable to understand the process of economic restructuring and this needed to be explained to him. The strike call would have a negligible effect on Delhi, but because the Left unions were involved in the strike, it would probably be effective in Kerala, Tripura and West Bengal, he added.