Bharat Bandh: Why workers across India are on a massive two-day strike

A two-day nationwide strike has been called by trade unions across India against the Narendra Modi government’s economic policies, which union leaders say are against workers, farmers and the people.

The strike began on Monday and is the first major nationwide protest since Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) won four of five state elections earlier this month.

It was called on 22 March after a decision by a joint forum of central trade unions and is being supported by at least 10 central trade unions, including the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, which had organised the year-long farmer protest against the federal government’s three farm laws that began in 2020.

Several essential services were hit, including transport and banking as unions in the coal, steel, oil, telecom, banks and insurance sectors joined the protest.

Public sector banks, including the State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, said banking services may be affected by the strike.

In a statement on Sunday, All India Trade Union Congress general secretary Amarjeet Kaur said more than 200 million workers across different sectors are expected to strike on 28 and 29 March.

“We are expecting participation of over 20 crore [200 million] formal and informal workers with mass mobilisation of workers across the country during the strike on March 28 and 29 to protest against government policies,” she was quoted as saying by The Hindustan Times.

Ms Kaur said the strike was being observed across India’s coal belt in the eastern state of Jharkhand and the central Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh states.

She added the strike had also found support in industrial areas in several southern and northeastern states.

Kerala, the only state ruled by India’s Communist party, saw deserted streets as government offices and shops remained shut.

In West Bengal, workers put up blockades on rail lines and stopped movement of railways in many places, reported The Indian Express.

Road blockades were seen in the city of Kolkata, where left-wing parties joined the workers’ unions protest in several places.

Office goers and students were hit in southern Tamil Nadu state after transport services came to a halt.

The protest also reached parliament where opposition parties conducted a demonstration and marched in support of workers’ rights.

The All India Bank Employees Association has also joined the strike to protest against the government’s move to privatise public sector banks through the Banking Laws Amendment Bill 2021, which aims to reduce government holding in such banks to just 26 per cent from 51 per cent.

The government had earlier claimed privatising some state-owned banks would overhaul the banking industry and that an asset monetisation model would help raise money to spur economic growth.

In a statement, the joint forum had said on Sunday that the strike is to protest the federal government’s “anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national” policies.

Their demands include the scrapping of the labour codes, no privatisation of any form and the regularisation of contract workers, reported news agency PTI.

Another demand is to increase the allocation of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act, a key job guarantee law.

The joint forum said decisions like reducing interest rate on provident fund accumulations from 8.5 per cent to 8.1 per cent and rising prices of petrol, LPG and kerosene were direct attack on workers.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP Jharna Das Baidya, who participated in the protest outside parliament, attacked Mr Modi’s federal government.

“Air India to airports, everything is being privatised. What is the meaning of Parliament, MPs, and ministers when the government will not do anything for the public? As long as BJP will keep pushing its own free will, we will keep protesting,” she was quoted as saying to news agency ANI.