Several parts of the country are likely to shut down between 6am and 6pm in varying degrees in response to a call for strike on September 2.
Ten central trade unions – with the notable absence of the BJP-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) – have called for a strike to demand a revision of minimum wage and hike it up to Rs 18,000.
Talks with the union government have yielded little result, with the trade unions maintaining that the hike offered by the centre was not good enough.
In a joint statement released on Wednesday, the unions said that the shutdown would be near total in 10 states in industrial sectors such as transport, finance, power, coal, textile and automobile.
Given below is a break-down of the services in your city that could be affected.
Essential services such as hospitals and pharmacies would be open. Uber has said that its drivers will be working on Friday, but this may change depending on the situation. Services will resume after 6pm.
Inputs from Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram below.
Bengaluru
Bengaluru is likely to be shut down as both public and private transport services will be hit.
General Secretary of the Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka (KAMS), Shashi Kumar D told The News Minute that its members have declared a holiday in the interest of safety of children. The association has over 1,800 members across the state.
The Karnataka Union of School and LMV Drivers Association has also said that it will support the strike.
Manjunath, general secretary of the KSRTC Staff and Workers Federation, said that both BMTC and KSRTC employees would strike work. Besides government buses, autorickshaws, lorries and private buses would stay off the roads, he said.
Representatives of Maxi cabs which have inter-district services will also support the strike. Ola has still not said whether they would work or not.
All banks, LIC, state and central government offices will be closed.
Chennai
Chennai is likely to be partially affected as some transport services will not function.
Schools however - both public and private - will remain open.
Tamil Nadu State Transport Employees Federation General Secretary Armugam Ninar told The News Minute that about half of all state-run buses would ply on the roads. “Other transport such as vans, taxis and autos will stay off the roads, but Ola and Uber would function partially.” He said that union members would protest at four locations: Guindy railway station, Purasawalkam near BSNL office, Chennai Collectorate and Mount Road.
Offices of all banks and central government departments will be closed. But some of the state government employees’ unions are not supporting the strike, so they will turn up for work. ESIC Nurses Union has also joined the strike.
Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi
Kerala will observe a shutdown. Except for emergency services, the whole state is expected to support the strike.
Hyderabad
The city is likely to come to a standstill as public transport is likely to be off the roads.
State-run buses will not function as most road transport corporation employees are supporting the strike.
Autorickshaws too will remain off the roads.