New Delhi (dpa) – A call for a nationwide strike by trade unions in India Tuesday evoked a mixed response, with banking and transport services disrupted across the country. Millions of workers belonging to 11 major trade unions joined the day-long action to protest high inflation and demand improved working conditions, closing markets, shutting factories and keeping traffic off the roads in many cities. But the strike had little impact in national capital New Delhi and the financial hub of Mumbai. State-owned banks were mostly closed across the country, with many employees absent. There are 87,000 branches of public sector banks in India and state-owned lenders control 75 percent of banking business. Transport services, post offices and ports also were affected by the action. But flights and rail services were not disrupted. In Mumbai, barring the financial sector, services such as public transport functioned as usual. In New Delhi, most public transport vehicles, including auto-rickshaws and taxis, were off the roads. The states of West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala, where communist parties have the strongest influence, were most affected by the strike. Kerala was the worst hit as around 5 million workers and employees were on strike, broadcaster NDTV reported. “Government policies and reforms are anti-people and anti-labor,” Vishwas Utagi of All India Bank Employees Association said. “The government should curb job losses and [stop] selling stakes in state firms,” he said. India's inflation rate averaged 9.7 for most part of last year and still remains high at 7.5 percent. The government has also downgraded its estimate for economic growth to 6.9 percent in the financial year ending March, the country's slowest growth rate in three years. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/jtT8Q Tags: Economy, India, Protests, Strike Section: Business, Latest News, South Asia
