Accusing the Centre of following anti-labour policies, members of various trade unions staged a protest in Chikkamagaluru on Wednesday.
Labourers under the aegis of AITUC, CPI, Raitha Sangha, Sahyadri Plantation and General Workers, Plantation Workers Union, District Construction Labourers Union and Karnataka Plantation National Trade Union Congress, gathered at KEB Circle and took out a protest rally to Azad Park Circle. They shouted slogans against the Central government.
The protesters urged the Centre not to dilute labour laws and to stop the contract labour system.
The minimum wages should be fixed at Rs 21,000. The minimum pension should be Rs 10,000. Free housing facilities should be provided for the labourers working in coffee, tea and rubber estates, they demanded.
AITUC district unit president K Gunashekar urged the Centre not to privatise the railway and insurance sectors. The loans borrowed by the farmers should be waived.
Demanding the withdrawal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, he said the government should check the rise in the price of essential commodities. Better facilities should be provided for Asha and mid-day meal workers.
AITUC secretary Vijayakumar said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to carry out an aerial survey to assess the damage caused by floods in Karnataka. However, for political purposes, he had visited Tumakuru recently.”
Owing to the nationwide strike, banks and post offices remained closed.
All the business establishments functioned normally. Buses and autorickshaws operated normally.
As a precautionary measure, the police has strengthened security in the district.