Trade union strike affects Uttarakhand partially

The nationwide strike of central trade unions on Friday showed little impact in the hill state of Uttarakhand as the state employees ignored the strike call.

Most bank unions in the state have also kept away from the one-day strike. Only one trade union -- Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) -- is participating in the stir.

Working at Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) in Haridwar was somewhat crippled by the strike called by central trade unions protesting against the NDA government's "anti-labour" policies.

All schools in the state, however, have been shut on account of the strike as a precautionary measure and Chief Secretary Shatrughan Singh has asked all district magistrates to keep vigil.

The state government wanted to ensure that there was no inconvenience caused to common people and also that any untoward incident was curbed.

The state unit of the Congress party has, however, extended its support to the nationwide strike, alleging that the NDA government has stifled the voice of the trade unions.

State Congress President Kishore Upadhyaya said that the Narendra Modi government was against the labour class and the Congress party fully supported the stir.

--IANS

md/in/vt