Catherwood LibraryILR School

India became the latest country to experience massive labor unrest yesterday, when close to 10 million public-sector workers went on strike to protest the government's plans to continue the privatization of many of India's publicly owned companies and firms. The strike was lead by unions at government-owned banks, railways and factories, and resembled recent anti-privatization strikes by Britain's railway unions and utility, manufacturing and transportation unions in South Korea. With India's 23-party coalition government increasingly hesitant to engage in unpopular economic policy revisions, the public-sector unions are likely hoping that increased pressure will prevent further privatizations like that of India's government-owned international telephone utility earlier this year.