In India, the sky always seems to reverberate with slogans of people on strike. Every now and then, one or the other department of the Government or a unit of the public sector, University teachers or doctors of a reputed hospital declares a strike on one flimsy ground or the other. The Central Government employees quite recently paralysed the whole nation by striking for the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission. Their example was followed by doctors, public servants, bank officers and others. Bank employees go on strike every few months. Teachers also give a call for a strike without sparing a thought for the plight of the students. Everyone has the tendency to blackmail or twist the arm of the authorities into granting them more.

By going on strike recently, the Central Government employees have appropriated a large share of public money. The salaries of the IAS officers and other officials have increased fantastically. State Government employees and university teachers are also harping on the same tune; they also want their share of the booty. More money, less work and no accountability are what the striking employees usually desire. While accountability is the corner stone of private sector jobs, government employees do little or no work at all. The harm to the morale of the nation is immense. The situation of the highly-paid government employees on the one hand and poorly paid workers of the disorganized sector on the other hand results in an enormous inequality.

Sometimes to justify strikes, it is said that employees have no other way to make their voice heard when nobody is willing to hear their grievances. If everybody continues with their work, the authorities take it to mean that everything is right with the world. It is also said that very often, lower level employees have no access to the management. Nobody seems to care about their working conditions. Many members of the bureaucracy seem to be interested only in feathering their nest. When employees have no voice and they find that all around self-interest seems to be the credo, they have no option but to go on strike to ensure that the authorities pay attention. A strike is thus a potent tool in the hand of the employees to make sure that those who matter listen.

But generally speaking, strikes have become a recurring phenomenon, a popular method used by those who are blind to everything other than their own selfish interests. What does a strike achieve? How do they benefit the economy and the society? Who actually suffers when the supply of electricity or water stops? Who pleads when the lawyers go on strike? Who bleeds if the doctors strike work in hospitals? It is the society as a whole who loses everytime. If coupled with violence, strikes roll back the nation’s economic progress, spelling hardship for one and all.

Strikes have become the norm because down the ages, labour unions have become politicized. Intra-union rivalries have increased. There is a growing sense of distrust between the management and the employees and no effective grievance redressal system has been developed.

Many a time, employees go on a strike at the drop of a hat and claim that it is the democratic way to champion their cause. When public transport goes off the road, the lives of the people who are dependent on it, may be jeopardized. If nurses and doctors go on strike many patients may lose their lives. In the same way, if teachers go on strike, the careers of students are placed on line. The daily wage earners, i.e. the people who earn hand-to-mouth, suffer immensely during strikes called by political parties as they do not have any food for that day. Strikes have become such a common affair now, especially in West Bengal, that they have lost their importance. We the common people just regard it as a holiday, a day to rest, gifted by the political party who calls the strike. The news channels showcases the strike as successful - as though the people had supported it. But in actuality the main reason for the success may be - i - people do not want to risk their lives by venturing out in the streets; ii - people want to enjoy an extra day of rest.

This is now the actual mentality of the common man. Hence I do not think strikes are justified. There could be different other ways to protest against an issue.