Almost 25 crore workers across India have been mobilised for Wednesday’s “general strike” against the new labour codes among a host of other issues.
Everyday life was paralyzed, as could be seen in pictures of buses parked at bus stations and stalled banking, postal, and electricity services, making the rounds on news and social media.
Employees and workers associated with at least 10 central trade unions (CTUs) have declared strike from work in retaliation against the four labour codes, which unions want repealed.
Also on their 17-point demand-list is increasing minimum wages to ₹26,000 per month and roll-back of the decision to privatise PSUs and contractualisation. Farmer organisations have been asking for minimum support price for crops based on the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendation of C2 plus 50 per cent. They are also demanding a loan waver for the famers.
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Farmers’ unions in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan will hold protests in their respective states, while reports of the ‘bandh’ have been streaming from Kerala, where the strike has received strong support from trade unions and Left-leaning organisations.
Select services have been impacted in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Bihar. In Puducherry, privately-operated buses, autos, tempos, shops, establishments, vegetable and fish markets remained closed. Private schools have declared Wednesday a holiday in the union territory as a precautionary measure.
In West Bengal, the government made arrangements to ensure that normal life was not impacted even though efforts were made by strikers to block roads and trains.
Meanwhile, the Union Labour Ministry on Tuesday claimed that about 213 unions, including the RSS-backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), have informed that they will not participate in the nationwide general strike.
All essential and emergency services across the country remained unaffected.
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