A nationwide general strike by trade unions today shuttered shops and kept buses off the roads in Kerala and West Bengal as workers protested alleged anti-labor policies of the federal government.

Banks, schools and government offices were closed but essential services including electricity, water and health sectors were exempt from the strike. Rail traffic was also unaffected.

However the Congress party-led state government has enforced a no work-no pay order against government workers.

“People have joined the strike against neo-liberal economic policies pursued by the scam-tainted government,” said MM Lawrence, state secretary of the Center of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), which is affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Additional police were deployed in Thiruvananthapuram after protestors blocked a bus carrying employees of a technology park and punctured the vehicle’s tires, said P Chandrasekharan, additional director general of police in the South Zone.

In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee warned government employees that abstaining from work could result in a break in their service tenure.

Despite often resorting to strikes while a member of the opposition, Banerjee said today that strikes give rise to violence and are expressions of frustration, serving only vested interests.

A coordinating committee member of CITU said all government employees enjoy full trade union rights and should not be penalized for striking.

CITU represents 33 government employee unions with more than 1.5 million members in West Bangal.