Bandh-like situation has prevailed in at least eight states due to the nationwide strike, stated the joint forum of trade unions in a statement on Monday.
A joint forum of trade unions, All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), called for a two-day Bharat bandh starting Monday with several other trade unions like INTUC, AITUC, CITU, HMS, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, UTUC and LPF being a part of the joint forum.
Around 10 central trade unions have joined hands for a two-day nationwide strike and nearly 20 crore workers are estimated to join them. The joint forum of central trade unions has given strike notices in sectors like coal, steel, oil, telecom, postal, income tax, copper, banks and insurance.
However, shops and markets stayed open on the first day of the strike along with essentials like healthcare, electricity and fuel supply services. Public offices and educational institutions are also expected to continue as usual on Day 2.
Banking services, however, in different parts of India gave got partially impacted as the reports of workers staging protests at several places across states emerged on Day 1. Some bank branches, which are situated in cities with a strong trade union movement, did very limited public dealings such as withdrawals and cash deposits.
“There is a bandh-like situation in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Assam, Haryana and Jharkhand,” the forum added.
Public transport was hit in Haryana because the employees of state roadways have also joined the strike. The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has halted its services.
Thousands of workers of state-owned SAIL, RINL and NMDC have joined the strike. However, select companies like Central Coalfields Limited and Bharat Coking Coal Limited stated that there was no impact of the strike on their production of coal.
Agitations were held in industrial areas across Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, the trade forum claimed.
Bank unions are protesting against the governmentâs move to privatise two public sector banks as announced in Budget 2021-22 and are demanding an increase in interest rates on deposits and a reduction in service charges.
