Protests erupted in India Thursday as trade unionists vowed to fight a Supreme Court ruling that bans government employees from taking part in strikes.

Chitrabratho Mazumdar, general secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), told AFP the group was launching marches and demonstrations in Calcutta and elsewhere in the state of West Bengal.

"Today we will take to the streets and make our disgust known. The Supreme Court order is an infringement on the people's movement and we will not stop our agitation till the court takes back its autocratic decision."

The CITU was planning a mass protest later Thursday in front of Calcutta's Writers Building which is the headquarters of the Marxist-led

West Bengal government.

The All-India State Government Employees' Federation (AISGEF) said the Supreme Court was going against the spirit of conventions backed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

"The right to bargain collectively and the right to strike is a fundamental right of the working class. The (1947) Industrial Disputes Act supported by the ILO has recognised and legalised the workers right to strike," said an AISGEF leader.

"So how can the Supreme Court stop government employees from striking?"

In the landmark ruling, India's Supreme Court on Wednesday said government employees had no right to strike because of the disruption it causes to other citizens and the economy.

The court was delivering its

judgement on petitions filed by government employees in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu who were challenging the provincial administration's power to sack them while on strike last month.

In an unprecedented move, the Tamil Nadu government sacked more than 100,000 employees who staged a strike on July 1 demanding higher wages.

Most of the employees were reinstated after a Supreme Court intervention but only after providing a written apology and pledging not to take part in strikes in the future.

Wednesday's Supreme Court ruling said "no political party or organisation can claim a right to paralyse the economic and industrial activities of a state or the nation or inconvenience the citizens."