NEW DELHI: Trade unions affiliated to Left parties opened fire at the UPA Government and announced a day-long strike on August 20 to protest against the proposed financial sector reforms and privatization.

The announcement by CITU, AITUC and half a dozen other trade unions came a day after government won the floor test in Parliament that was necessitated due to withdrawal of support by Left parties. Congress affiliated INTUC and Sangh Parivar's BMS are not party to the agitation.Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) President M K Pandhe, who is also a politburo member of CPM, said in a statement that they are against the UPA government's intentions to privatize and deregulate financial sectors including pension, banking and insurance.

Pandhe termed, cap-less voting rights for foreign players in banking sector, raising FDI cap in insurance, pushing social security funds for investment in equity markets, privatization or disinvestments of the profit making PSUs as retrograde measures.

INTUC President G S Reddy said, "The call for strike is politically motivated to malign Congress-led UPA government. We will not be the party to this strike just because CPM wants to gain cheap popularity." "We believe in negotiations and representations. We will definitely talk to the government if there would be anything against public interest I appeal to working class particularly in financial sector that they should not get mislead on false propaganda of left allied trade unions."