All-India general strike being observed against Modi govt’s anti-worker, pro-corporate policies
New Delhi: Employees and workers associated with a joint forum of central trade unions are observing a day-long ‘Bharat Bandh’ (India-wide strike) today to protest the BJP-led Indian government’s anti-worker and anti-farmer policies.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the strike, which was announced on January 9, aims to register opposition to the Modi government’s pro-corporate policies that the unions argue undermine the interests of workers, farmers, and the nation as a whole. The joint forum comprises INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC.
The forum said that 30 crore workers are mobilised for the general strike, which focuses on protesting against the government’s new labour codes, among other issues.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha has extended full support to the trade unions’ demands, while the joint front of agricultural workers’ unions is also participating in the strike seeking restoration of the rural job guarantee scheme MGNREGA and rollback of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025. Among other demands are the scrapping of the four labour codes, withdrawal of the Draft Seed Bill and the Electricity Amendment Bill, and repeal of the ‘Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act’.
A statement posted by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CP-M) Kerala on X read: “February 12 is not just a strike, it is a defence of rights hard won through decades of struggle. From factories to fields, workers and farmers rise against the 4 Labour Codes and policies against the people that threaten livelihoods and democracy. Kerala will stand firm for justice and dignity.”.
All India Trade Union Congress General Secretary Amarjeet Kaur said that the general strike started across the country this morning, and that she has received reports of the agitation from states, including Assam, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Kerala, Odisha, Bihar, among others. She added that processions have started in industrial areas of New Delhi. Kaur said banking, insurance, postal, transport, health, coal and non-coal mines, gas pipeline and electricity sectors have been affected by the strike. She further said the farmers’ unions are also holding protests in their respective areas.
