Nationwide strike has limited impact in Maharashtra

     Mumbai, Mar 28 (PTI) The nationwide strike had a limited impact in the financial capital on Monday, with most of the services functioning normally.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Employees from Maharashtra's power sector utilities joined the strike despite the threat of action against them but they had extensive negotiations with the state's power minister Nitin Raut.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Besides, employees from state-owned banks and insurers, and old private sector lenders held a meeting at the Azad Maidan, the city's official protesting ground. <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In a statement, Maharashtra State Bank Employees Federation claimed 5,000 employees attended the protest.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Devidas Tuljapurkar, General Secretary of Maharashtra State Banking Employees Federation, said the workers will assemble for a protest at Horniman Circle in South Mumbai on Tuesday morning and try forming a human chain.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ahead of the strike, the city-headquartered SBI, also the country's largest lender, had warned customers of some inconveniences.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Volume data from clearing houses and cash replenishment at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) was not immediately available, though the striking employees claimed that they had a deep impact.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There was no word about impact, if any, at the two ports in the city and its vicinity, which also have unionised employees.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A day after threatening to impose the Maharashtra Essential Services Management Act (MESMA), Raut held a virtual meeting with the striking employees and assured them that none of the corporations will be privatised, one of the key concerns of the employees, according to a statement.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The minister has called for a face-to-face meeting with the employees on Tuesday and all the concerns expressed by them will be discussed, as per the statement from the minister's office.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Shops and establishments functioned normally.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A joint forum of central trade unions has given a call for a nationwide strike on March 28 and 29 to protest against the government policies affecting workers, farmers, and people.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Their demands include the scrapping of the labour codes, no privatisation in any form, scrapping of the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), increased allocation of wages under MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and regularisation of contract workers. PTI AA  RAM

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)