Rallies and protests were held at various places in the city on Thursday in response to a nationwide strike call given by various trade unions to protest the ‘anti-worker’ and ‘anti-people’ policies of the Centre.
Employees of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), and staff of various industries and banks as well as workers from the organised and unorganised sectors participated in the strike.
Central trade unions, affiliated to AITUC, CITU, IFTU, INTUC and AICTU, participated in the rally that was organised from the DRM’s Office at Dondaparthi to Asilmetta. Leaders and activists of CPI and CPI(M) also participated in the protests.
A large number of workers took part in protests held at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, Gajuwaka, industrial belt, Pendurthi and other areas despite a continuous drizzle.
CPI State assistant secretary J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy alleged that the NDA government has converted the labour laws, which were achieved by workers after several struggles, into four codes to deprive workers of their rights, while benefiting corporate groups.
Injustice was also being done to small and marginal farmers through the introduction of farm bills, he alleged.
CITU leader and CPI(M) State Secretariat member Ch. Narasinga Rao alleged that the Centre was responsible for the suffering of eight crore migrant labourers in the country, who were forced to walk hundreds of kilometres to their homes during the nationwide lockdown clamped earlier this year. He thanked the workers for making the strike a success and warned the Centre that it would be taught a lesson by the people if it fails to take corrective action. He alleged that the lopsided policies of the Centre were reverting the progress of the nation.
AITUC national vice-president D. Adinarayana and IFTU leader Y. Kondayya alleged that PSUs were being sold to corporates ever since the Modi government assumed power.
Members of the A.P Medical and Sales Representatives’ Union participated in the rally organised as part of the general strike. APMSRU district secretary K.K. Choudhary led the rally. State secretary K.V.P. Chandramouli demanded reduction in the prices of drugs and stopping trade of medicines in the black market and online sales and removal of GST on drugs.
District secretary D. Sravanth spoke.
CITU general secretary V.S. Padmanabha Raju demanded that the Centre withdraw its privatisation moves and Major Ports Authority Bill. He called for unity among all workers for the achievement of their rights.
NSTL Civilian Employees Union staged a protest in front of the NSTL gate as part of the general strike. Union president Ch.V.S.N. Murthy and vice-president Ch. Chandrasekhar Rao led the protest.
