Workers have rejected the strike call by trade unions: BJP

New Delhi, Sep 2 (PTI) Asserting that workers todayrejected the strike call given by various trade unions, BJPtoday credited the government’s "pro-workers" and liberalmeasures for their welfare and development. "I am glad that workmen have rejected the strike callbecause of the pro-workers approach of the government and theliberal measures it has taken for their benefit. "I congratulate the workmen of India for the positiveattitude they demonstrated today," BJP leader and UnionMinister for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines,Piyush Goyal said. The Union minister said he collected feedback from acrossthe country and the strike call made "little impact". He claimed the workers have appreciated the steps,including a 42 per cent hike in the minimum wages, taken bythe government in their interests. Normal life in several parts of the country was affectedtoday by the one-day nationwide strike by trade unions withpublic transport, banking and mining being among the most-hit,while protesting workers were detained in Haryana, Jharkhand,West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. The central trade unions claimed the strike wassuccessful as around 18 crore workers came on streets tosupport the agitation, despite only partial impact in somestates like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. Industry body Assocham pegged the cost to the economy atRs 16,000-18,000 crore from the one-day stir, call for whichwas given by 10 central unions to protest against what theycalled the government’s "indifference" to workers demands forbetter wages and facilities and the "anti-worker" changes inlabour laws. While the agitation paralysed day to day work in stateslike Kerala, Odisha, Tripura, Assam and Telangana, the impactwas quite visible in Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Haryana, WestBengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. PTI KR TDSRG