The Hindu : Banks, industry affected by strike

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 25, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Banks, industry affected by strike

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB. 24. A large number of activists of the Delhi unit of the Indian Federation of Trade Unions were detained by the Delhi police and prevented from holding a demonstration outside the Supreme Court around noon today. The protesters had come together in response to a call by the National Committee of IFTU, supporting the call for a one-day general strike today by several Leftist trade unions.

The IFTU activists, some of whom had come from Ghaziabad and Panipat, were taken by the police to the Tilak Marg police station. Here they convened a mass meeting in which several speakers, including the president of the Delhi Committee, Animesh, spoke about the role of courts, especially the Supreme Court, in connection with the rights of the workers and stressed the need to intensify the struggle of the working class for upholding its rights.

Dr. Animesh said the right to strike is the natural right of the workers and called upon the working class to continue the struggle till it is upheld. He also exhorted all the central trade unions to evolve a united platform to carry this agitation forward.

The party leaders also criticised the Delhi police for denying them the right to express their dissent towards the Supreme Court ruling. They claimed that though the police had been informed about the programme in advance, they denied permission to hold the meeting at the last moment.

This, Dr. Animesh said, made it clear that "the Central Government acting through the police has gone out of the way to stifle the protest against the Supreme Court, showing that the courts and the government are ganging up against the workers' right to protest.''

During the course of the day, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions also organised several protest meetings in different parts of the city. In Patparganj Industrial Estate its activists forced closure of industrial units and took out a rally. Similarly, they ensured a complete strike in industrial units located at Mangolpuri, Mayapuri, Naraina, Kirti Nagar, Lawrence Road and G.T. Karnal Road. The effect of the strike was also felt at Samaipur Badli and Wazirpur.

The CITU president, Surajbhan Bharadwaj, claimed that the police resorted to cane-charge at a number of places to disperse the protesters.

Averring that nearly 60 per cent of the industrial units remained closed in Okhla Phase I and Phase II, Mr. Bharadwaj said the loading and unloading work in some of the major markets was also adversely affected as over 5,000 labourers participated in the strike, seeking a minimum labour charge of Rs. 5 per quintal. He said over 1,000 employees of the Delhi Jal Board also held a protest demonstration at Varunalaya in support of the nation-wide agitation.

The strike also severely affected operations in the public sector banks in Delhi, completely crippling the clearing operations.

A massive demonstration was also held by the United Forum of Bank Unions outside the State Bank Buildings at Parliament Street in which a large number of officers and employees participated.

The president of Delhi State AIBOC, T.N. Goel, said the bank employees also participated in the strike to demand an early conclusion of wage revision, to oppose the anti-labour and privatisation policies of the Government and to demand a second option on pension.

The strike also partially affected work in various insurance companies as three of the five major unions participated in the strike.

Similarly, work in the Reserve Bank of India here was also affected as six of the 10 unions joined the agitation.

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