Agartala Mar 28 PTI The two-day nationwide strike called by major trade unions to protest against the central governments alleged wrong policies failed to evoke much response in the BJP-ruled Tripura on Monday the first day of the stir officials saidAttendance in government offices and educational institutions was normal Private schools however remained shut citing the safety of the students in the wake of the strikeVehicles were seen plying on roads while train services and flight operations were normalBanks financial institutions markets and business establishments remained open in Agartala the state capitalLife was normal across the state today despite the strike There was no detention or campaign in favour of the bandh in the state capital or elsewhere a senior police officer saidEarlier the Tripura government had said its offices will remain open on Monday and Tuesday The state authorities also mandated the employees to report for duty on these two daysAny exception to the government order will be viewed seriously a government notification issued on Saturday night readA joint forum of central trade unions has given the call for a nationwide strike on March 28 and 29 to protest against the government policies that are allegedly affecting workers farmers and people Their demands include the scrapping of the labour codes no privatisation of any form scrapping of the National Monetisation Pipeline NMP increased allocation of wages under MNREGA Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act and regularisation of contract workers among others The central trade unions that are part of this joint forum are INTUC AITUC HMS CITU AIUTUC TUCC SEWA AICCTU LPF and UTUC PTI PS SBN NN NN

Chandigarh Mar 28 PTI Public transport services were affected in Haryana on Monday as the Roadways employees joined the two-day nationwide strike call given by a joint forum of the central trade unions to protest against the Centres alleged wrong policies that are affecting farmers workers and peopleCommuters had to face a tough time as the bus services remained suspended at several depots of Haryana RoadwaysThe roadways employees held protest at many depots in the state as part of the strikeSarbat Singh Punia a leader of the joint front of 10 unions of roadways employees said that in all the depots bus services are suspendedOnly a few buses which are run under the kilometre scheme were operated in the morning in Narnaul Jhajjar and Chandigarh depots by private operators Our roadways employees are observing a complete strike he saidHe alleged that the BJP led Haryana government was not strengthening the Haryana Roadways fleetThis indicates their intent to promote privatisation of the transport services There were 4200 buses in the Haryana Roadways fleet about six years back which have been reduced to 2600 now and route permits are given to promote private buses Haryana Roadways needs 10000 buses in its fleet but the government is not paying heed he claimedIn some districts prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC were imposed to maintain law and order during the strike under which a ban has been imposed on the gathering of five or more persons in a 100-metre area of the bus stands officials saidPunia claimed that employees and workers of some other departments including public sector banks and municipal bodies are also participating in the nationwide strikeMeanwhile public transport buses were plying normally in neighbouring Punjab officials saidOur bus services are running normally in Punjab an official of the State Transport Department saidNaresh Gaur Deputy General Secretary of Punjab Bank Employees Federation however said the employees of nationalised bank employees joined the strike and the banking services remained affected in PunjabCentral trade unions on Monday began a two-day nationwide strike to protest against the governments alleged wrong policiesA joint forum of central trade unions had given a call for a nationwide strike on March 28 and 29Their demands include the scrapping of the labour codes no privatisation of any form scrapping of the National Monetisation Pipeline NMP increased allocation of wages under MNREGA Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act and regularisation of contract workers among othersThe central trade unions that are part of this joint forum are INTUC AITUC HMS CITU AIUTUC TUCC SEWA AICCTU LPF and UTUC PTI SUN VSD BAL BAL

New Delhi Mar 28 PTI Banking services were partially impacted on Monday as a section of bank employees did not report for duty in support of the two-day nationwide general strike called by central trade unions However there was hardly any impact on the functioning of new generation private sector banks Transactions at many public sector banks have been impacted as employees have not reported for duty Besides there might be a delay in cheque clearances and government treasury operation might also be affected by the strike The impact of the strike is prominent in eastern India as many branches of public sector banks there are closed All India Bank Employees Association AIBEA General Secretary C H Venkatachalam said In the other regions branches are open as officers are present but services are being impacted due to many employees participating in the strike he said Bank unions are protesting against the government move to privatise two public sector banks as announced in Budget 2021-22 They are also demanding an increase in interest rate on deposits and reduction in service charges Besides AIBEA Bank Employees Federation of India BEFI and All India Bank Officers Association AIBOA are also part of the two-day strike call given by the joint forum of central trade unions and various sectoral independent trade unions to protest against governments anti-people economic policies and anti-worker labour policies All Indian Trade Union Congress AITUC Centre of Indian Trade Unions CITU and Indian National Trade Union Congress INTUC among others are demanding scrapping of the proposed changes in labour laws and privatisation in any form Increased allocation of wages under MNREGA Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act and regularisation of contract workers are also part of their demands Most of the banks including State Bank of India SBI had informed their customers about the proposed strike and likely impact on the services in advance PTI DP RAM

New Delhi Mar 27 PTI Some of the essential services related to banking transportation railways and electricity are likely to be impacted during a two-day nationwide strike called by a joint forum of central trade unions beginning Monday Talking to PTI All Indian Trade Union Congress General Secretary Amarjeet Kaur said We are expecting participation of over 20 crore formal and informal workers with mass mobilisation of workers across the country during the strike on March 28 and 29 to protest against government policies She said that the strike is expected to hit the rural parts also where informal workers of farming and other sectors will join the protest The strike notices were given by workers unions of various sectors such as coal steel oil telecom postal income tax copper banks and insurance Unions in railways and defence sector will carry out mass mobilization in support of the strike at several places the joint forum said The unions demands include scrapping of the proposed changes in labour laws privatisation of any form and the national monetisation pipeline Increased allocation of wages under MNREGA Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act and regularisation of contract workers are also part of their demands Workers of roadways transport and electricity departments have also decided to join the strike in spite of the impending threat of ESMA Essential Services Maintenance Act which is likely to be imposed in Haryana and Chandigarh the joint forum said in a statement Trade unions including INTUC AITUC HMS CITU AIUTUC TUCC SEWA AICCTU LPF and UTUC are part of the joint forum Meanwhile the power ministry on Sunday advised all the state-run utilities and other agencies to be on high alert and ensure round-the-clock electricity supply and stability of the national grid The Centre of Indian Trade Unions CITU have called for a nationwide strike with effect from 0600 hrs of March 28 to 0600 hrs of March 30 2022 an advisory issued by the power ministry said The advisory has been issued to all states central public sector undertakings central electricity authority national load dispatch centre and regional load dispatch centres In the interest of the consumers of electricity it is advised that all the power utilities shall take necessary measures to ensure round-the-clock functioning of the electricity grid and availability of all plants transmission lines and substations the ministry said adding that all regionalstate control room executives should be vigilant and on high alert The ministry also suggested measures to be taken to ensure secure and reliable grid operations Shutdown activities planned during March 28-29 may be rescheduled to suitable future dates to the extent possible it said and asked all concerned officials to ensure close supervision of their regional networkcontrol area Also manpower may be deployed at all critical sub-stationspower station 24X7 to handle any emergency situation it said Power supply to those engaged in essential services such as hospitals defence and railways must be ensured it added and suggested setting up of a 24x7 control room for information dissemination and handling any kind of contingency Bank employees unions said they will support the strike All India Bank Employees Association AIBEA General Secretary C H Venkatachalam said the union demands the government to stop privatisation of public sector banks and strengthen them Bank employees also demand speedy recovey of bad loans higher deposit rates by banks lower service charges on customers as well as restoration of old pension scheme for staff A number of public sector banks including countrys largest lender SBI have said that their services may get impacted to a limited extent due to the strike SBI said it has made necessary arrangements to ensure normal functioning in its branches and offices during the strike It is likely that work at our bank may be impacted to a limited extent by the strike SBI said New Delhi-headquartered Punjab National Bank PNB said AIBEA Bank Employees Federation of India BEFI and All India Bank Officers Association AIBOA have served notices to go on strike on March 28-29 While bank has made all arrangements to ensure normal functioning in its branches and offices it is likely that work in our bank may be impacted to a limited extent by the strike PNB said Bengaluru-based Canara Bank said it is taking all necessary steps to ensure smooth functioning of bank branches and offices However the functioning of the bank may be impacted Canara Bank added Private lender RBL Bank said its bank unions are affiliated to AIBOA and AIBEA and the employees associated with these unions may participate in the strike The bank will take all necessary steps for smooth functioning of the banks branchesoffices on the days of strike However it is likely that some of our branches would also be impacted by the strike RBL said PTI KPM KKS BAL KKS HVA HVA