Strike hits normal life, workers detained in some states

Normal life in several parts of the country was affected on Friday by the one-day nationwide strike by trade unions with public transport, banking and mining being among the most-hit, while protesting workers were detained in Haryana, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.

The central trade unions said the strike was successful as around 18 crore workers came on streets to support the agitation, despite only partial impact in some states like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Associated Chambers of Commerce of India pegged the cost to the economy at Rs 16,000-18,000 crore from the one-day stir, call for which was given by ten central unions to protest against what they called the government's indifference to workers demands for better wages and facilities and the anti-worker changes in labour laws.

The government said sectors such as railways, civil aviation and major ports remained unaffected, while banking and insurance, coal, telecom and defence production were partially affected and transport and steel saw only marginal impact.

While the agitation paralysed day to day work in states like Kerala, Odisha, Tripura, Assam and Telangana, the impact was quite visible in Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Haryana, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, claimed Trade Union Coordination Committee (TUCC) General Secretary S P Tiwari.

He said, "The impact was partial in states like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan but the life remained normal in metropolitan cities of Mumbai and Delhi. However the strike is successful as around 18 crore workers came on streets to support the agitation."

Central of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) Tapan Kumar Sen said, "The repose to the strike was massive and unprecedented. Workers actively participated in the strike despite the use of state repression including the use of police force in some states like West Bengal, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Assam etc."

CITU said in a statement that Trinamool government in West Bengal used the brutal force of its police as well as its goons to physically attack the workers on strike. There were clashes in several districts as workers resisted the use of force.

It further said, "Section 144 was imposed in several industrial areas as in Gurgaon, Faridabad in Haryana, Nodia etc. 12 workers of Maruti Suzuki and 22 transport union leaders were arrested in Gurgaon. Police went to workers' residential areas in Gurgaon to coerce contract workers who were on strike, to join work."

It added, "The West Bengal transport minister directed the MD of Water Transport to suspend the striking employees. TMC goons attacked processions of striking workers, youth, women and even journalists in Burdwan and many other places."