Industrial strike in West Bengal evokes partial response

A statewide industrial strike called in West Bengal on Thursday by a joint forum of central trade unions evoked partial response as work was affected in some banks and industrial zones. Banking operations in several public and private sector banks in West Bengal were affected owing to the strike, trade union leaders said, while the State Bank of India SBI reported normal functioning.

A statewide industrial strike called in West Bengal on Thursday by a joint forum of central trade unions evoked partial response as work was affected in some banks and industrial zones. The joint forum announced a general strike in the rest of the country on Thursday, demanding repeal of the new labour code and over other issues. Members of the trade unions, including CITU and AITUC and UTUC, who have also given the call of 'save Bengal' in the assembly poll-bound state, demonstrated outside factories in industrial hubs at Durgapur and Haldia. Banking operations in several public and private sector banks in West Bengal were affected owing to the strike, trade union leaders said, while the State Bank of India (SBI) reported normal functioning. Bank Employees Federation of India general secretary Debasish Basu Chaudhury claimed the strike was ''successful'' in the banking sector across the state. He claimed services in most public and private sector banks were hit, though SBI employees did not directly participate. ''SBI employees have not joined the strike but have extended moral support,'' he said. SBI sources maintained that operations at its branches across the state remained normal without any disruption. Meanwhile, Kolkata Port authorities said cargo handling and other port activities, including loading and unloading, continued as usual. The jute sector reported partial disruption. Former Indian Jute Mills Association chairman Sanjay Kajaria said several mills were either shut or operating partially due to the strike. Public transportation in the state was, however, not affected as it has been kept outside the purview of the strike owing to the ongoing state school board examinations. The industrial strike is being supported by the Left Front and Leftist employees' federations, according to a CPI(M) party official. A group of trade unions, on January 9, announced the nationwide strike to show their ''resistance to anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national pro-corporate policies of the central government''.

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