Nation wide bandh total: Unions

New Delhi, Dec 14 (UNI) The 24-hour nationwide strike today to protest against the economic and industrial policies of the UPA government was ''total and spontaneous'', claimed the organisers Sponsoring Committee of Trade Unions.

Talking to mediapersons here, CPI MP and AITUC leader Gurudas Dasgupta said six crore working employees participated in the general strike.

''Let the UPA Government at the Centre know that it is just the beginning of an end,'' he said, adding, never before had Srinagar and Shillong witnessed a strike in tandem with the rest of the country.

The trade union leader described the strike as the ''biggest ever''. Attributing the spontaneous reaction to ''shoddy'' implementation of economic reforms, Mr Dasgupta expresssed the hope that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram would take ''a lesson'' from it.

He regretted that the Government must consider the trade unions as separate from political parties. ''It must stop. The Unions must be listened to. Talking to political parties is one thing and talking to the trade unions is another,'' he said.

The strike, called by the left-affiliated trade unions, was to press for a 16-point charter of demands adopted unanimously by the National Convention of Workers held in Delhi in July. The demands included comprehensive legislation for the unorganised sector workers and a ban on outsourcing of jobs among others.

The trade unions would again meet in January to chart further course of action, according to him.

The CPI leader exhorted the youth to join and transform the general strike into ''people's resistance''.

The Sponsoring Committee has AITUC, AICCTU, CITU, HMS, TUCC, IDBI, UTUC, UTUC-LS, federations of bank/insurance, Railways, Defence, Petroleum, Coal, Civil Aviation and others under its wings.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and CITU leader M K Pandhe, however, admitted that the strike was not total in the IT sector.

Umraoman Purohit of Hind Mazdoor Sangh, Abani Roy (UTUC) and N Thomas were among those present on the occasion.

Bhartiya Majdoor Sangh and National Organisation of Bank Workers have, however, refused to join the strike.

UNI SSS YA KN1926