Press Release by CITU
CITU Press Release
28th March 2022
The Countrywide General Strike on the First Day Witnessed Huge Response
CITU salutes the working people for making the General Strike success.
Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) congratulates the workers for their magnificent response and overwhelming participation in the first day of the Two days’ General Strike called by the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions, Independent Sectoral Federations/ Associations on 28th & 29th March, 2022. Hundreds of millions of workers participated in the strike and millions joined the demonstrations held today all over the country. This historic strike call was given not merely on immediate demands of the workers but against the anti-national destructive policies of Central government.
This General Strike turned into a bandh in many states particularly in Kerala and Tripura and also in several districts of Tamil Nadu, Haryana, West Bengal and Assam as the public transport, both government and private, came to a halt. Thousands of people participated in the road/ rail blockades in numerous places. Factories, shops, offices and commercial establishments wore a deserted look. In all major industrial centres and hubs across the country the strike was massive. Despite the threats like promulgation of ESMA, eight day wage cut notices etc, the working people responded massively to the call of CTUs to save the people; save the nations.
As per the reports received from different states and industries up to the afternoon of 28th March 2022, strike was observed in massive way in the major industrial centres in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Delhi, Telangana, Karnataka and Haryana. The Tuticorin VOC Port and Paradip Port the strike was total and it was substantial in other areas. The PSUs like Vizag Steel and BHEL units at Trichy and Ranipet were paralysed due to the strike. In the coal mining sector, strike was more than 60% on the average with Singareni Collieries in Telangana witnessing almost 100per cent strike. Strike in Power Grid was unprecedented; 100% strike in Southern Region II covering Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry and in the North Eastern Region covering 7 states – Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura, and Eastern Region II covering Odisha, Sikkim and West Bengal. Oil/Refinery sector, LPG plants also witnessed massive strike action in Assam and all the north eastern states and also at Kochi and Mangalore.
The strike was total in the insurance, massive in banks. There was massive participation of the central and state government employees in the strike throughout the country particularly in postal, income-tax and other major departments. State government employees’ strike was also substantial in Kerala, Haryana, Punjab, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Bihar and partial in other states. BSNL workers also joined the strike in large numbers.
The strike in the private manufacturing units in Bengaluru industrial area like Bommasandra, Bidadi, Peenya, Whitefield, Hoskote, Dabaspet industrial areas (Karnataka) – strike was total. Similarly Cherlapalli industrial area near Hyderabad was totally closed. The MNCs like Sandvik and Toshiba in the Telangana also witnessed complete strike. In the industrial areas of Tamil Nadu including Chengalpattu, and Kanchipuram also, strike was almost total. The Road Transport including public transport, auto, taxi, OLA and Uber are not plying in many states.
The power loom and spinning mill workers in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and Haryana joined the strike almost entirety.
Crores of unorganised sector workers, including construction workers, beedi workers, head load workers, private transport workers struck work and participated in the demonstrations. Around 80 lakh scheme workers including anganwadi, ASHA and mid-day-meal workers played a frontline role in making strike in the concerned sector almost total. Shop employees, traditional sector workers including plantation, coir workers etc, participated in the strike in a big way. These striking workers continued day long road blockade and rail-blockade demonstrations in numerous locations throughout the country giving the general strike a greater visibility.Peasants and agricultural workers along with the members from various mass organisations also participated in those blockade demonstrations. In several states rural hartal was observed by the peasants and agricultural workers
It is expected, strike is going to be even bigger on the second day, on 29th March 2022. While congratulating the working class again for their huge response, CITU calls upon the working class to make the second day’s strike even more massive reflecting their anger against the devastating anti people and anti national policies of the Modi led BJP government of corporate-communal nexus at the centre. This is necessary to Save the Nation and Save the People.
Issued by
(Tapan Sen)
General Secretary