Tamil Nadu - Tirunelveli   

Normal life remains unaffected by strike call

— Photos: A. Shaikmohideen and N. Rajesh

Against report: Cadres of trade unions staging a road roko in Tirunelveli (left), and in Tuticorin on Wednesday.

TIRUNELVELI: Normal life was not affected in the district even as 3,348 functionaries of CITU, AITUC and AICCTU including 750 women courted arrest after blocking traffic at 19 places in the district on Wednesday in protest against inflation and demanding the Centre to remove “anti-employee recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission”.

In the road roko held at Tirunelveli Junction, 425 protestors including AITUC district secretary Kasi Viswanathan, CPI district secretary R. Shanmugavel, CITU district secretary R. Karumalaiyan, and 44 women were arrested.

When the AICCTU functionaries, led by the district secretary Raja Manickam blocked traffic near the arch at Tirunelveli Town, 210 persons including 45 persons were arrested.

Similar agitations were held at Alwarkurichi (71), Nanguneri (76), Valiyoor (133), Ambasamudram (100), Vickramasingapuram (144), Mukkoodal (93), Tenkasi (133), Shencottai (230), Alangulam (224), Paavoorchathram (171), Kadayanallur (158), Puliyangudi (242), Sankarankovil (387), Sivagiri (278) and Veeravanallur (177).

The protestors were released in the evening.

Though the functionaries affiliated to the protesting trade unions struck work in view of the agitation, all buses, autorickshaws, vans and lorries were plying normally and schools and government offices functioned as usual.

A total of 2,085 members of CITU, DYFI, All India Kissan Sabha, and All India Agricultural Workers Union courted arrest after they a staged roko at 18 places in the district on Wednesday.

They protested “wide disparity” in pay scales recommended in the Sixth Pay Commission report for lower ranked employees and officers.

All vacancies in government sector should be filled and move to privatise Public Sector Undertakings should be dropped.

The government should procure all agricultural produces directly from farmers at attractive support prices to save the farmers from distress.

However, the strike call evoked mixed response in the district. About 75 per cent of employees in the State Government offices attended work. In the insurance sector and in Central Government offices, 50 per cent of the staff struck work. Banking transactions were affected severely as about 60 per cent of employees responded to the strike call.

About 20 per cent of auto rickshaw drivers kept their vehicles off the road while bus services were not affected.

Flight operation from Tuticorin airport was normal.

Striking government employees and staff in the insurance sector staged demonstrations at various places.

They demanded periodic revision of pay as per price and living indexes to avoid erosion of money value owing to price rise.

According to them, retrograde recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission such as abolition of about 10 lakh Group D posts across the country and ban on recruitment should be reversed.

Normal life was unaffected in Kanyakumari district.

Bus operations to nearby Kerala remained suspended and theKerala State Road Transport Corporation did not ply its services to the district. A few private schools had declared a holiday.

But government offices and educational institutions functioned normally.

With operation of private and government buses and autorickshaws, the normal life was not at all affected by the strike called by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions.

Despite absences of small number of clerks, banks and government offices functioned as usual. Ten to 15 per cent of clerical staff in government offices and banks took part in the strike.

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