Indian authorities have drawn up emergency plans to deal with a one-day strike called by more than 1 million bank and airport workers yesterday to protest against the communist-backed coalition’s economic policies. An Airports Authority of India (AAI) spokesman said yesterday they had sought the help of the Indian Air Force and the Navy and other government agencies to maintain normal operations.

“Some vital sections of airport employees such as air traffic controllers have said they will not join. So it will not affect the functioning of airports,” the AAI spokesman said. “We hope to maintain normal operations.” But a leader of the Airports Authority of India Employees Union said the vast majority of airport workers would heed the strike call. “You can imagine the impact when 20,000 out of the 22,000 workers go on strike,” MK. Ghosal, general secretary of the AAI Employees Union, said. Bank unions said they were going ahead with the strike.

“The strike would be near total with more than 95 percent of the bank employees participating in it,” said CH. Venkatachalam, general secretary of the All India Bank Employees Association. The strike has been called by the United Forum of Bank Unions, which represents nearly 95 percent of more than 1.3 million bank and insurance workers. “We disagree with the government that the sum total of banks would lead to more strength,” Venkatachalam said on the finance minister’s comments that banks should merge to get stronger so that they can take on global competition.

Workers at some private and foreign banks will also join the strike, as will those at state-run financial institutions such as National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, he said. Employees are protesting against what they say are anti-worker economic policies such as privatisation, allowing foreign direct investment in the pension and other key sectors. The government wants to allow foreign investments of up to 26 percent in the pension sector.

India aims to set up two joint ventures to hold leases to operate the Mumbai and New Delhi airports and is offering 74 percent stakes in them. Foreign firms can hold up to 49 percent, while private Indian companies must have at least 25 percent. The government is examining six bids for the Mumbai airport and five bids for the New Delhi airport. “We are against privatisation. We have conveyed our decision to the government but there has been no response,” said AAI employees union Ghosal.