The Standing Council of Trade Union, the combine of trade unions in the industrial areas around Kochi, has called an industrial hartal on August 10 in protest against the power tariff hike and to press for a total rollback of what the unions described as the death knell for industries in the State.
K. N. Gopinath of the CITU and V. P. George of the INTUC, who participated in a meeting of the Council at the Aluva Palace condemned the power tariff hike, coming as it was at a time when industrial recession had hit all areas of economic activity.
Industrial units cannot afford to the pay the revised rates, said Mr. Gopinath. He said that the power tariff hike took the shine off the government’s efforts to woo investment through the emerging Kerala summit, scheduled for September in Kochi. Though the Electricity Regulatory Commission has allowed open access, KSEB is unlikely to allow consumers to buy power of their choice, he said.
