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Nationwide bandh against `pernicious' economic policies

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI APRIL 6. A nation-wide general strike has been called by a host of central trade unions for May 21 to protest the Union Government's "pernicious economic policies" which affect the workers.

The AITUC, the CITU, and the HMS are among the key unions, which have given the call. Independent federations and trade unions in the banking, insurance and oil sectors have supported the move, according to Gurudas Das Gupta, general secretary, AITUC.

"As of now, the INTUC and the BMS (which are politically aligned to the Congress and the BJP respectively) are not part of our movement. However, we call upon them to join us as the strike is essentially to highlight the disastrous effects of the economic polices on the workers and compel the Government to change them", Mr. Das Gupta told presspersons today.

The charter of demands included halting of privatisation of profit-making and potentially-viable public sector undertakings, abandoning proposed changes in labour laws, which would affect the interests of workers but favour employers, restoration of 12 per cent interest rate on provident fund deposits and amendment of the Payment of Bonus Act by removing all ceilings. Other demands were that policies leading to unemployment should be abandoned and social security schemes be widened to include all workers in the unorganised sector besides restoration of quantitative restrictions on imports and adequate legal safeguards for agricultural workers.

Mr. Das Gupta, also a former Rajya Sabha MP, said a Bill had been prepared to withdraw the Industrial Disputes Act, the "only protective cover" for workers, in respect of establishments employing 300 persons or less.

On the recent speech of the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, attacking the Centre for "anti-poor" policies, he said "their sympathy for the poor will appear to be synthetic if they do not join us". Recently, he met the BMS chief and sought support for the proposed bandh. Though the strike call was not sponsored by any political party, the AITUC general secretary said he was approaching party leaders. "We even appealed to the Shiv Sena to support our call", Mr. Das Gupta said, adding that he held talks with the DMK-affiliated LPF general secretary, C. Kuppusamy, as part of his exercise.

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