More than 25 crore workers — ranging from bank employees, insurance staff to postal department employees, right through to coal miners — are scheduled to join a general strike across the country on Wednesday. The strike, initiated by a common forum of 10 central trade unions, has been characterised as a 'Bharat Bandh' to demonstrate against what the unions term as "anti-worker, anti-farmer, and anti-national pro-corporate policies" of the government at the Centre.
The trade unions have called for "making the nationwide general strike a grand success," attributing months of hectic preparations in formal and informal sectors. "Over 25 crore workers are likely to participate in the strike. Farmers and agricultural workers will also participate in the protest all over the country," Amarjeet Kaur of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) wrote to news agency the media.
The mass agitation will have a serious effect on major public services and sectors. "Banking, postal, coal mining, factories, and state transport facilities will be hit because of the strike," said Hind Mazdoor Sabha's Harbhajan Singh Sidhu.
At the heart of the unrest is a charter of 17 demands submitted by the unions to Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya last year. The unions claim the government has ignored these demands and failed to convene the annual labour conference for the past decade - a move they say reflects the government's apathy toward the labour force.
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In a collective statement, the forum complained that the government's labour reforms, which involve introducing four new labour codes, are intended to undermine workers' rights. The codes, the unions contend, seek to dismantle collective bargaining, weaken union activities, lengthen working hours, and protect employers from liability under labour laws.
The government has deserted the welfare state status of the nation and is serving the interest of foreign and Indian corporates, and this is so glaring from its policies being pushed aggressively, the forum added.
Trade unions have been resisting "privatisation of public sector undertakings and public services, outsourcing policies, contractorisation and casualisation of manpower", it added.
The four labour codes that were enacted by the Parliament are designed to dampen and disable the movement of trade unions, raise working hours, usurp workers' right to collective bargaining, right to strike, and legalise breach of labour laws by employers, the release added.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha and united front of the farm workers unions have come out in support of this strike movement and have also decided to undertake massive mobilsations in rural India, union leaders added.
Trade unions had previously organised such nationwide strikes on November 26, 2020, on March 28-29, 2022, and on February 16 last year.
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