New Delhi - Millions of Indian workers and government employees went on a strike across India on Wednesday that paralyzed life in the country's three communist-ruled states, media reports said. Eight major leftist trade unions and bank, airport and railway employees called the strike to protest soaring double-digit inflation and what they called the central government's "anti-worker" economic policies.
They also protested a recent 21-per-cent wage hike for government officials which strikers said did not include junior staff.
There was a complete shutdown in the communist-governed states of West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala, but rail, road and air services remained largely unaffected in the rest of the country, the PTI news agency reported.
Local news outlets estimated that more than 50 million workers, including those from the unorganized sector, peasants and government employees were participating in the strike called by All India Trade Union Congress, Centre for Industrial Trade Union and 40 employees' federations.
The strike hit West Bengal's Kolkata metropolis where shops, business establishments and educational institutions were closed and roads wore a deserted look.
All flights to Kolkata were cancelled due to the strike by the airport employees agitating against privatization of airports and rationalization of employees' pay scales.
No violence was reported from any part of the West Bengal, the state's police chief Raj Kanojia told the PTI. He said train services were disrupted with protestors squatting on the rail tracks at several places.
Life was also disrupted in Kerala and Tripura, where attendance was thin at government and private offices and activists participated in sit-ins and tried to block roads and trains.
The strike action came more than a month after communist parties, which have been critical of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance's economic reforms, withdrew parliamentary support from the coalition.
Inflation has surged to a 13-year high of 12.44 per cent, driven by higher food and fuel prices.
All India Trade Union Congress leader Gurudas Das Gupta claimed thousands of workers from the postal department, defence sector and ports had joined the strike protesting against the "unfair treatment" meted to them by the government pay panel.
"The agitation will be a warning to the government, not to pamper the corporates and speculators, both domestic and foreign, at the cost of the rights and livelihoods of the toiling people," a union statement said.
Banking services were also hit as over 500,000 workers belonging to the All India Bank Employees' Association joined the job action.
"We have organized this strike to protest against the privatization, merger and consolidation of public sector banks," Rajen Nagar, national president of bank employees' union told the IANS news agency.
