Mixed response in Goa to nationwide trade union strike call

The nationwide strike called by trade unions against the Centre's policies on Thursday drew a mixed response in Goa, with banking operations affected while essential services remained undisrupted. Nationalised banks and offices of many insurance companies remained shut in the coastal state. All India Trade Union Congress Secretary Suhas Naik told PTI that industrial units across various places in Goa were partially affected. ''Labour unions shut down the work in different industrial estates as a mark of solidarity to the strike call,'' he said. Naik said there was no impact on essential services. ''The public transport system worked without any problem,'' he said. Meanwhile, members of labour unions held a protest march in the capital city of Panaji. It started near the Kadamba Bus Stand and went up to Azad Maidan in the city. A joint forum of central trade unions has called for a strike on Thursday to show their ''resistance to anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national pro-corporate policies of the central government''. Their immediate demands include the scrapping of four labour codes and rules, withdrawal of the Draft Seed Bill and Electricity Amendment Bill, and the ''Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act''. The unions are also demanding the restoration of MGNREGA and the scrapping of the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025. The joint forum includes INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC.