Indian trade unions announce countrywide strike on July 9 over anti-labour policies
New Delhi: Major trade unions across India have announced a countrywide strike on July 9 in protest against the Indian government’s anti-labour and pro-corporate policies.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the ‘Bharat Bandh’ is expected to significantly disrupt essential sectors such as banking, insurance, postal services, mining, and construction. The strike has received widespread support from farmers’ organizations and rural labour groups, who have pledged to participate. Over 250 million workers from across the country are expected to join the countrywide protest.
The joint platform of Indian trade unions has described the strike as a united struggle against policies that undermine workers’ rights, marginalize farmers, and favor big corporations. The unions have urged employees from both formal and informal sectors to participate in the shutdown to make it a success. Preparations for the strike are already underway across various sectors.
The joint trade union forum includes several major organizations such as the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC), Trade Union Coordination Centre (TUCC), Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), Labour Progressive Federation (LPF), and United Trade Union Congress (UTUC). All of them have extended full support to the Bharat Bandh.
The unions are opposing the privatization of public sector companies and essential services, outsourcing of jobs, contractualization, and the expansion of temporary employment policies. They state that these actions weaken job security and workers’ rights, and push millions into economic precarity.
The unions stated that the government is systematically eroding labour rights. They pointed out that no Indian Labour Conference has been held in the past ten years, a key platform that once addressed workers’ concerns. In its absence, policy decisions are being made unilaterally, to the detriment of the working class.
In a show of solidarity, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and joint platforms of agricultural labour unions have also announced their full support for the July 9 Bharat Bandh.
