NEW DELHI: Essential services such as banking and public transport are likely to be hit on Friday as trade unions go on a nationwide strike to protest the government's alleged "indifference" to their demand for better wages and "anti-worker" changes in labour laws. Railway services will not be affected.Rejecting the Centre's appeal, the unions said this year's strike would be bigger than the one on September 2 last year. Prices of commodities are taken from surveys done by the Labour Bureau. Additional expenses like that on children's education and festivals are added on as 25% of other expenses, following a Supreme Court order in 1992.The 7th Pay Commission crunched through all the numbers and came up with Rs 18,000 per month (Rs 692 per day) as the "minimum need-based wage" for unskilled employees. The trade unions are demanding the same for unskilled workers.Since the government's proposal of Rs 350 per day is nearly half of what is demanded by the workers, the impasse continues.

Source: Times of India September 02, 2016 00:11 UTC