Mangalore: Trade Union Strike Evokes Overwhelming Response
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje / Brijesh Garodi / Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)
Update: 7 pm
Mangalore, Feb 28: The call for bundh given by various trade unions evoked good response across the city on Tuesday February 28. Private buses stayed off roads and sporadic movement of government buses was witnessed. However, though most of the office-goers and labourers preferred to stay home, a few commuters who came from far away places by train had to depend on rickshaws, which were present in small numbers.
By evening a few priavate buses started plying on regular routes.
In the State Bank area almost all the shops were closed except a few milk and newspaper kiosks. Most of the buses were parked in State Bank, service bus stands. Voluntary bundh was observed by the schools and colleges in city. Two wheelers were also less, and the main roads in the city wore a deserted look. Though a few government offices were kept open, attendance was poor.
Incidents of stone pelting were reported in the morning, but during the day the bundh was largely peaceful.
Earlier Report
The call given for general strike on Tuesday February 28 all over the country by various trade unions backed by various political outfits in support of various demands including pension for all classes of workers, ending of employment on contract, outsourcing, and enhancement of minimum pension, has evoked very good response in the coastal districts of Karnataka. The united district committee of labour unions has supported the strike call.
The streets in the city have registered very thin traffic since early morning, as most of the offices and establishments are closed. Private buses, which dominate the public transport system in the twin districts, have remained off the roads. Only private vehicles, some auto rickshaws, and Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation buses are seen moving about. Because of thin attendance in offices, and as the people knew in advance about the general strike, the auto rickshaws on the roads have not been doing brisk business.
While most of the schools are open, attendance has been sparse. The commissioner of PU education has instructed the directors of public instruction of both Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts to postpone the history, electronics, and computer science examinations which were scheduled to be held today, to Monday March 5.
Principal of District Institute of Education and Training said that the annual examination on computers under ICE Phase 1 and 2 in government high schools, which were scheduled for today, will be held on February 29. The programme of National Science Day organized at Pilikula has been deferred by a day.
A private bus and two KSRTC buses were stoned at Besant, Mahendra Arcade, and Lalbaug. A bus driver also suffered injury in his eye. Three government buses at Adyar and Kannur were also stoned.
Bus Owners Associations of both the districts said they have not officially supported the bandh call as the labour organizations have not sought the same. A release by Mangalore Airport Employees Association said that it is supporting the strike.
Udupi
Shubhalakshmi
Pics: Hemanath Padubidri
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Feb 28: All schools and colleges remained closed in Udupi in the wake of all-India strike given by various trade unions. The roads are almost deserted, and a few city buses which are running are empty. Banks, shops and other establishments have also downed their shutters.
A few bikes, cars and auto rickshaws were seen plying.
Various labour unions and organization from both organized and unorganized sector held a protest meeting opposite Life Insurance of India divisional office at Ajjarkad here on Tuesday February 28 morning, to register their protest against the anti-labour policies of the state and central governments and to demand various facilities for the working class.
Admar Sripati Acharya, convener of Joint Committee of Trade Unions, addressing the protestors, explained that 11 different labour unions, government employees, bank and insurance employees, apart from telephone workers, have been carrying on various movements against the anti-people and anti-labour policies of the state and central governments since long. He said that these unions, setting aside their differences in ideologies, have come together to fight against the injustice of the governments on a common platform today by giving a call for general strike all over the nation.
He criticized successive governments for failing to control spiraling prices, frequently hiking prices of petroleum products, privatizing government concerns by divesting their shares, violating labour laws, shielding entrepreneurs guilty of anti-labour practices, failing to ensure payment of minimum wages, etc. He demanded coverage of all classes of employees under insurance schemes, bonus, gratuity etc.
He said that demanding to set right the above anomalies and urging stoppage of employment on contract, fixing minimum monthly wages of Rs 10,000, removal of limitations, restrictions, and eligibility criteria with regard to payment of bonus, enhancement of gratuity, payment of pension to all classes of employees, enforcing minimum wages for bidi workers, setting up of welfare boards for rickshaw drivers, and meeting various other demands as set out in the memorandum of demands etc, this general strike had been called for.
The protestors, who formed a sizeable crowd, then proceeded through the streets of the town. The procession, which started from LIC divisional office, moved through Jodukatte and other places.
CITU district secretary, P Vishwanath, Labourers Association secretary, Dogu Suvarna, K V Bhat and Sanjeeva Sherigar of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Balagangadhara of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), Murali Shetty of INTUC, U Shivaraya of Udupi district Bank Employees Union, U Gurudat, general secretary, LIC Employees Union, Prabhakar B Kunder, president of LIC Employees Union, Shashidhar Golla of BSNL Employees Union, Kamalaksha Kamat of BMS-affiliated union of LIC, Madhusudan Heroor of Karnataka Development Officers and Sales Agents Association, were present.
Udupi: Widespread Impact of Strike Call at Brahmavar
Suvarna Brahmavar
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Feb 28: The general strike, call for which was given by various trade unions in protest against the anti-people policies of the state and central governments, received very good response at Brahmavar in the district today.
A procession organized in this connection, started from the Travellers Bungalow and culminated near the bus stand, where a public meeting was held. The participants strongly supported various demands spelt out by their central leaders.
People from various places around Brahmavar participated in the programme. Leaders like Construction Workers Organization regional president, Ganapati Nayak, labour leader, Vittal Poojary, Auto Rickshaw Drivers and Owners Union president, Raju Poojary, secretary, Sadashiva Poojary, Vasu Poojary, Godwin Fernandes of Raita Sangha, as well as Bhavani and Kavita of Bidi Workers Union, were among those who were present.
Bhatkal
Yahya Hallare
Daijiworld Media Network - Bhatkal (RD)
Bhatkal, Feb 28: The general strike that was staged by the joint committee of CITU, Uttar Kannada, was peaceful in the taluk on Tuesday February 28.
The general strike was called by the joint committee of CITU urging the union government to curb rising inflation in order to save the livelihood of working class, to introduce a package to create jobs and sustain, to enforce labour laws, to grant social security to the working class, not to sell shares of profitable public sector undertakings, to abandon privatization of financial sector or mergers, to shelve the plans of FDI, to fix minimum wages and social security for cleaning staff in health department.
The trade unions also placed demands to regularize the employment of gram panchayat employees and to introduce minimum wages, to discontinue contact system in industries and establishments, to pay equal wages to contact labourers as that of regular employees, to amend minimum wages Act by fixing Rs 10,000 as minimum wages, to increase gratuity by superseding the limits of bonus and PF, to grant retirement benefits to all confirmed labourers, to make it compulsory registration of labour unions within six months in the country, to grant labour rights under ILO convention, to grant revise minimum wages of labourers engaged in tile industry, to fulfill the justified demands of labourers engaged in building construction, to make amendment to the Education Act to provide free pre-university education, and to grant employment to the families of retired employees in Anganawadi.
A rally was led from bus stand via Shamshuddin circle to tahsidar's office, where a memorandum was submitted to the tahsildar.
Nearly a thousand people, mostly women, participated in the rally.
Subhash Kopekar, Gupta Naik, Laila Acharya, Pundalik Naik and others were present.