Bank Services, ATMs May be Hit Tomorrow as Trade Unions Call for 'Bharat Bandh'

New Delhi: Ten central trade unions on Monday said around 25 crore people will participate in a nationwide strike on January 8 to protest against the government's "anti-people" policies. Trade unions INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF, UTUC along with various sectoral independent federations and associations had adopted a declaration in September last to go on a nationwide strike on January 8, 2020.

Services at several bank branches and ATMs could be affected tomorrow as thousands of bank employees have threatened to sit on a day-long strike.

"We expect participation of not less than 25 crore of working people in the forthcoming National General Strike on January 8, 2020, to be followed by many more actions seeking reversal of the anti-worker, anti-people, anti-national policies of the Government.

"The Ministry of Labour has failed to assure on any of the demands of workers which called a meeting on January 2, 2020. The attitude of the government is that of contempt towards labour as we construe from its policies and actions," the 10 central trade unions (CTUs) said in a joint statement.

About 60 organisations of students and elected office-bearers of some universities have also decided to join the strike with an agenda to raise voice against increased fee structure and commercialization of education, it said.

The trade unions condemned the JNU violence and similar incidents in other university campuses and expressed their solidarity with students and teachers all over India. The unions also expressed displeasure over no Indian Labour Conference being held since July 2015, codification of labour laws and privatisation of PSUs.

"As many as 12 airports are already sold out to private hands, 100 per cent sale of Air India is already decided, decision to sell BPCL taken, BSNL-MTNL merger announced and 93,600 telecom workers already thrown out of jobs under the garb of VRS (voluntary retirement scheme)," it added.

The unions are also against privatisation in railways, corporatisation of 49 defence production units and forced merger of banks.

Joint platform of more than 175 farmers and agricultural workers unions will extend its support to workers' demands and observe January 8 as Gramin Bharat Bandh along with their charter of demands, they added.