About 56 mass organisations representing 50 trade unions from the countrywill participate in the strike. Though the National Confederation ofOfficers Associations (NCOA) and All India Bank Officers Association (Aiboa)will not participate in the strike, they have decided not to confront thestriking workers. This will be the first attempt by trade unions to forcethe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government to roll back its neweconomic policies and focus on employment-sensitive programmes. "The strikeis to protest the economic policies of the Government, againstliberalisation and globalisation which is affecting labour and the poor ofthe country," Tapan Sen, national secretary of the Centre of Indian TradeUnions (CITU), said.

"We are also against the Government's subsidy cuts which affect the poor,"Sen added, referring to cuts in food and fertiliser subsidies announced byfinance minister Yashwant Sinha in his budget for fiscal 2001.

The unions have decided to fight tooth and nail the Government's move ofdownsizing the work force through privatisation and corportisation of publicsector organisations. The Government intends to slash staff strength throughintroduction of voluntary retirment scheme (VRS) in the banks besidescutting down flab in central and state government establishments.

Aibea general secretary Suresh Dhopeshwarkar said: "Besides opposingprivatisation in the banking industry, bank unions which has a membership ofsix lakh employees are also blaming the top managements and the governmentfor a whopping Rs 58,000 crore locked in the non-performing assets. They arealso opposing introduction of voluntary retirement schemes in banks." CITUgeneral secretary Prabhakar Sansagiri said: "This is the first stage of theagitation. We plan to portest until the government agrees to implementemployement sensitive policies. We also have an active participation fromthe unorganised sector." The All India State Government Employees'federation with a membership of 80 lakh employees -- is opposing the conversionof public works departments into coporate bodies. u Federation chairman RGKarnik said: "We are opposing the indiscriminate privatisation of thegovernments set-ups with no thought for the security of the employees.

Employees are forced to join the corporate bodies on new terms of serviceconditions which means forfeiture of pension and several other earnedbenefits."

Greater Mumbai public sector employees union general secretary Sukumar Damlesaid: "In Maharashtra, all the 1.7 lakh members will participate resultingin a near closure of all government enterprises."