May 1: Asserting that the Congress party would continue to fight for the rights of the workers community, Opposition leader at the Lok Sabha Sharad Pawar however urged trade unions to adopt a co-operative stand while pressing their demands with the management.``This is not the time to confront. The industrial recession has already forced several companies to cut down their production. Several small scale industrial units are on the verge of closure,'' Pawar said while addressing a large gathering of bank employees at the Congress Bhavan here today.The gathering was organised by Bank Karmachari Sangh, affiliated to Congress's Indian National Trade Union Council (INTUC), as part of Workers Day celebration.Lamenting the economic scenario, Pawar said, ``Even rural economy is breaking down. Several farmers from Maharashtra, Punjab and Karnataka have committed suicide.''
