Members of various trade unions took out a protest march and staged a dharna in Hubli on Wednesday to press for their demands.
The agitation was held under the banner of the Dharwad unit of the Joint Committee of Trade Unions (JCTU) in response to the nationwide call given by the committee to press for conceding the long-pending demands of workers.
The protesters took out a march from Kittur Rani Chennamma Circle to Ambedkar Circle, near the Head Post Office, here, where they staged a dharna.
They said that despite repeated agitations by trade unions, the Union and State governments had failed to initiate steps to check inflation and meet the long-pending demands of workers. Instead of initiating steps to mitigate their sufferings, the Union government had hiked petrol prices, indirectly leading to escalation of prices of essential commodities.
They said that the Union government’s decision to allow foreign direct investment in retail would only aggravate the situation as the step would ultimately result in over four crore families losing their means of livelihood.
Memorandum
The protesters submitted a memorandum, addressed to the Prime Minister, to the Hubli tahsildar.
In the memorandum, JCTU sought steps to check inflation, steps to create jobs and strict implementation of labour laws.