new delhi, july 8
Over 25 crore workers in key sectors such as banking, insurance, postal services, and coal mining are expected to join ‘Bharat Bandh’ on Wednesday following which public services will get impacted across the country.
A joint forum of 10 central trade unions and their associates gave the call for Bharat Bandh to protest against what they term as “anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national pro-corporate policies of the Union government”.
The Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), Labour Progressive Federation (LPF), United Trade Union Congress (UTUC) and the federations representing government employees will be joining the strike. The joint forum, in its joint statement, has called for making the nationwide general strike a “grand success”.
Meanwhile, Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday said it was “ironic” that the CPI (M) whose government had destroyed the economy of Kerala over the past nine years is lending support for the Bharat Bandh organised by trade unions in the country. “It is ironic that a party that has been in government for nine years and has systematically destroyed the economy of Kerala…is today talking about having a strike and making the life of common people hell…We are today losing our talent, losing our youth. And because we are losing our youth, we are losing investments,” Chandrashekar said. The BJP leader and former Union Minister stated that the CPI (M) is a “small political force” and is “limited” to Kerala. “It is not a nationwide strike. It is a strike, called by the CPI(M) and supported by the Congress. While the CPI(M) may think it represents the nation, it is an extremely small political force, limited to Kerala,” Chandrashekar said. According to Harbhajan Singh Sidhu of the Hind Mazdoor Sabha, banking, postal, coal mining, factories, and state transport services will be impacted due to the Bharat Bandh.
In its statement, the joint forum has alleged that the Centre’s labour reforms, including the introduction of four new labour codes, are designed to erode workers’ rights. These codes, unions argue, aim to dismantle collective bargaining, weaken union activities, increase working hours, and shield employers from accountability under labour laws. The Union government has abandoned the welfare state status of the country and is working in the interest of foreign and Indian corporates, and it is so evident from its policies being pursued vigorously, it said.
Trade unions have been fighting against “privatisation of public sector enterprises and public services, policies of outsourcing, contractorisation and casualisation of workforce”, the joint statement said.
The four labour codes that have been passed by the Parliament are meant to suppress and cripple the trade union movement, increase working hours, snatch workers’ right to collective bargaining, right to strike, and decriminalise violation of labour laws by employers, the statement further said.
