Calcutta, March 10: The CPM?s labour arm, Citu, has decided to go for a nationwide general strike in protest against the ?anti-labour policy? being pursued by the Congress-led UPA government.

Though the date of the strike is yet to be announced, it is expected that the Left trade unions, under Citu?s leadership, will call the strike during the next session of Parliament.

Announcing this, Citu?s president M.K. Pandhe said there was no way out other than organising the strike to protect the working class.

Before the general strike, the Citu and other Left trade unions will organise a nationwide strike in the banking sector on March 22. ?We have also plans to organise strikes in the coal, oil, telecom and transport sectors before going for the nationwide general strike, the date of which is yet to be fixed,? Pandhe said.

?We don?t find any difference in the economic policies of the UPA government and the previous BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. The UPA government is also grossly flouting the common minimum programme drafted in consultation with all its constituents,? Pandhe told journalists at the CPM headquarters on Alimuddin Street.

He said all the Left trade unions had agreed to the general strike. ?We will now approach both the Intuc and BJP-led Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh to join us. The BMS had earlier refused to join us when we had organised nationwide strikes probably because of the BJP-led government in Delhi. Let?s see how they react to our call for the general strike now.?

He also apprehends that the Intuc this time might not support them in holding the general strike because the Congress is heading the UPA government. ?But grassroots Intuc activists are with us and we are sure to get their support at the lower level because, like us, they also realise (that) the present situation is not favourable for the working class,? the Citu leader said.

Pandhe also came down heavily on the employment guarantee scheme declared by the Union government. ?Though the government has declared the scheme, they have said nothing about the minimum wage to be paid to those who will come under the scheme. In the textile sector, the Congress government is engaging contract labourers and we feel this will render permanent employees jobless,? he added.

Asked how they could go for the strike against the Congress at a time when the CPM and other Left parties were working hard to help the government to continue for the full five-year term, Pandhe said: ?It is not our responsibility to protect the government. We want to speak the language the government will respond to.?