The Indian government ordered air force personnel to stand by at airports as the country's left trade unions gave a call for a 12-hour strike Thursday to protest the government's privatisation of airports and other issues. The left trade unions have a membership of 40 million and the strike is likely to paralyse airports, banks, insurance companies and state-run industries across the country. dpa reported The strike has been called to protest the economic policies of India's ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, privatisation of Delhi and Bombay airports, disinvestment of state- run companies and moves to change labour laws. The left parties support the UPA coalition government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh but maintain that it has been deviating from a common minimum programme agreed upon when the government came to power with left support in May 2004, especially on economic measures. --More 2307 Local Time 2007 GMT
