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Workers' strike on April 16 to protest cut in interest rate

The central trade union organisations on Monday gave a call for a workers' strike on April 16 to protest against the finance minister's 'disastrous anti-worker and pro-capitalist' move to reduce the interest rate to 9 per cent on general provident fund, public provident fund and small savings.

The AITUC, AICCTU, CITU, HMS, TUCC, UTUC and UTUC in a statement here said the cut in interest rate would affect 10 million central and state government employees and more than 20 million workers subscribing to employees' provident fund scheme as also to a sizeable section of the population's accumulation in PPF and small savings.

''The move by the government is aimed at making cheap funds available to the corporate sector and will force the common man to invest their hard earned savings in the insecure capital market.

"Retrograde move of cut in interest rate would undermine the existing social security and other saving schemes."

They reiterated their demand made to the finance minister during pre-Budget consultations that the interest rate should be restored to 1998-99 level and said that workers in the central public sector undertakings and financial sector would go on strike against the move of the government.

UNI

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