Singh in his statement had said, "I appeal to the Central Trade Unions to withdraw their call for a countrywide General Strike on 20 and 21 February, 2013. Such a strike would lead to avoidable loss to our economy and inconvenience to the public through disruption of services. While some of the issues raised by the Trade Unions are already being acted upon and others are at various stages of consideration, I have requested my senior Cabinet colleagues Shri A K Antony, Shri Sharad Pawar, Shri P Chidambaram and Shri Mallikarjun Kharge to together hold discussions with the leaders of the Trade Unions. I am confident that these discussions would result in a course of action that is acceptable both to the Trade Unions and the Government," reported The Times of India.

The Finance Ministry's statement said, "None of the main points contained in the charter of demands (of the trade unions) has any connection with the bank employees. Banks provide employment to a large number of people and continue to recruit every year. Bank employees have social security cover. They hold regular jobs which carry attractive scales of pay. They receive bonus, PF and gratuity in accordance with applicable laws. They are entitled to pension.

Meanwhile, trade uniouns have turned the government's appeal to call off the strike. Consequently, the Indian School Certificate Examination (ICSE) board has postponed three papers of class 12 exams due to a nationwide trade union bandh.