Assertion: In May 1974 The National Coordination Committee for Railwaymen’s Struggle led by George Fernandes gave a call for a nationwide strike by all employees of the Railways.

Reason: The employees were unhappy with the decision of the Indian government to privatize the Railways.

The Assertion is correct but the Reason is incorrect.

The National Coordination Committee for Railwaymen’s Struggle led by George Fernandes gave a call for a nationwide strike by all employees of the Railways for pressing their demands related to bonuses and service conditions. The government was opposed to these demands. So, the employees of India’s largest public sector undertaking went on a strike in May 1974. The strike by the Railway employees added to the atmosphere of labor unrest. It also raised issues like the rights of the workers and whether employees of essential services should adopt measures like strikes.

The government declared the strike illegal. As the government refused to concede the demands of the striking workers, arrested many of their leaders and deployed the territorial army to protect railway tracks, the strike had to be called off after twenty days without any settlement