Trade unions have called a nationwide strike on Friday
Highlights
- Trade unions accuse government of ignoring 12 demands
- Minimum wage must be raised, foreign investment not ok: unions
- Banks, factories to close. Government offices also to be affected
With trade unions flat out refusing to cancel a massive strike called for Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an emergency meeting this evening to discuss what assurance it can give them to make them change their mind.
The session was attended by Arun Jaitley, Piyush Goyal and Bandaru Dattatreya, who head the Finance, Power and Labour ministries. Sources who attended the meeting said that within 48 hours, the government will reach out again to unions with an offer that could help avert the strike.
Banks, government offices and factories will be closed on Friday across the country, the unions have warned. Railway employees have so far not indicated they will join the shutdown, which means trains are unlikely to be affected. However, several state unions have said they back the strike, which could affect other public transport.
The unions have since September last year been pushing for 12 major demands include raising the minimum wage from Rs 9,000 to Rs 18,000 per month. They are also opposed to the government's recent loosening of rules for foreign investment particularly in sectors like pharmaceutical and defence, where, they say, national security could be compromised.
The strike and accusations of not protecting workers' interests come at a time when the government is delivering major reforms to re-energise the economy, and trying to fight the perception of it aligning with the interests of big business.
The PM last week told his party leaders that they must publicise and more effectively communicate pro-poor welfare schemes.
Also caught between a rock and a hard place is the Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), a major union linked to the ruling BJP's ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS. If it joins the strike, it will allow Left-affiliated unions and the opposition to claim the government's policies are unacceptable even to agencies with close ties. Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh has yet to decide its position for Friday. Last year, it did not participate in a similar shutdown, opting out after a government assurance to look at nine of the 12 demands presented by unions.