general strikes in india

map of india



1996, october 23 - 30 - 2 million strike in protest against government policy
more than a million telephone and postal employees in india struck in protest to government imposition of a ceiling on annual pay bonuses. a similar cap on bonuses for railway workers was recently rescinded by the government and the strikers argue they should be treated equally.

the workers are part of a coalition of three telecommunication unions and three unions in the the postal sector. postal service in the country was seriously disrupted, but the army has been able to keep the more automated telecommunications systems operating. more than 800,000 other public employees workers went on strike in support of the postal and phone workers.

after a week, the government agreed to cancel a ceiling on annual pay bonuses. the end of the strike came when the government announced that employees would be paid a bonus linked to productivity and canceled a $100 limit on the bonus.

from solinet's archive of labor news


the world : asia : india


figgins@dnai.com