FW Bureau

Chandigarh, Sept 7

The decision of the trade unions to call an all-India bandh today, to protest against price rise and other issues like disinvestment of public sector, retrenchment and entry of foreign capital in retail market was really unfortunate, the PHD Chamber said. The bandh, which affected the major segments of the economy including coal, power, telecom, banks, insurance, defence, port and dock, road transport, petroleum and construction, crippled economic and industrial activity in the country, especially at a time when our economy and industry are showing nascent signs of revival. Small scale industries, which contribute 40 per cent to the export market was particularly affected by the bandh, said Ashok Kajaria, President of PHD Chamber. The call for bandh is not a solution to issues of concern to workers. The best course is to resolve such issues through discussion and negotiation and arrive at a settlement, which serves the best interests of all stakeholders and the long-term interests of economy and industry, he said. Since work at leading ports and docks, industrial units, road transport, banking and insurance, telecom, among others, which forms an arterial base of the economy came to a standstill, the financial loss in these sectors would be tremendous, a statement released by the PHD Chamber said. Apart from industry, the workers in the unorganised sector and the general public are worst affected, it added.