THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A nationwide strike called by trade unions against the Centre’s labor code brought normal life to a standstill across Kerala on Thursday.
Trade union strike disrupts normal life in Kerala, transport services affectedAlthough the state government has declared a dis-union for government employees, office attendance was expected to remain low as transport vehicles remained off the roads.
The General Administration Department of the State Government has issued an order that unauthorized absence of an officer due to strike shall be treated as “non-death”.
The order said that if the officials do not perform their duty, the salary of the day on which the strike is taking place will be deducted from the salary.
The order added that no leave shall be granted to teachers and government employees except for personal illness or illness of close relatives, examinations, maternity leave or other unavoidable reasons.
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Apart from government offices, shops and businesses are likely to remain closed due to the nationwide 24-hour strike.
Commuters were the worst affected as KSRTC and private buses remained off the roads.
Autorickshaw unions have also announced that they will not go on strike.
“I have been waiting for a KSRTC bus since 6 am to return home to Kanjiramattam after my night duty. But no bus is running. I will wait for a few more hours before going to the railway station to catch a local train to reach my destination,” a commuter told reporters in Kochi.
Passengers arriving by train from other states were also affected at various railway stations and police ran buses at some stations to help the stranded passengers.
With the Sabarimala temple opening for the Meenam month puja on Thursday evening, KSRTC officials said that a few pampas from Thiruvananthapuram, Chengannur, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Thiruvalla will conduct services for the convenience of pilgrims.
Meanwhile, Kochi Metro and online taxi services are operational, providing limited relief to commuters in the city.
Although there was no incident of violence associated with the strike in the morning, police personnel were deployed across the state to intervene in case of any untoward incident.
The labor organizations said that rallies and meetings will be held in all districts.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without text modification
