A staggering 30-40 crore workers and farmers will participate in the general strike on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, declared leaders of 10 central trade unions in New Delhi on Monday (July 7, 2025) while addressing a joint press conference. The leaders said preparations for the strike were complete and large sections of workers had supported the 17-point charter of demands of the strike, called against the Union government’s policies. A forum of 10 central trade unions and their associates has called for a general strike or ‘Bharat Bandh’ to “oppose the anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national pro-corporate policies of the government”.
Among key demands of the general strike are the repeal of four Labour Codes, minimum support price (MSP@C2+50%) for all Crops, minimum wages of Rs.26000 per month, ‘No Privatisation of PSU’s’, the estoppal of ‘casualisation of employment’, ‘freedom from indebtedness’, all issues that are critical to protect Indian agriculture, industry and services.
The General Strike is also against the imposition of free trade agreements on Indian people. US’ dominance on world trade has unleashed all efforts to coerce the Modi Government to impose unfair trade terms and to dump US agricultural products in India.
The four Labour codes legalise contract labour based on hire and fire policy. Once implemented, say trade unions and farmer organisations, these Codes, will shatter not only the rights of the existing workforce but the entire new generations of workers in all sectors of the economy. The youth cannot dream of having access to formal employment with social security and retirement benefits. The right to an eight-hour work day will not sustain and new forms of slavery will be imposed on the working people under the guise of ‘ease of doing business’ to facilitate corporate profiteering. Workers will lose the right to unionise, right to bargain for remunerative wage and right to strike. The four labour codes are both authoritarian and undemocratic in character, say the unions that will eventually endanger the independence of the working people and sovereignty of the country. Hence it is vital for all the freedom loving citizens to join the fight to bury the labour codes once and for all.
“Current economic policies are resulting in more unemployment, rising price rise of essential commodities, depression in wages, cut in social sector spending in education, health, basic civic amenities, all this leading to more inequalities and miseries for the poor, lower income group and even middle classes. The government has abandoned the welfare state focus of our country and is working in the interest of foreign and Indian corporates and it is so evident from its policies being pursued vigorously,” the trade union leaders said.
In a statement, they said the trade unions had been fighting against the privatisation of public sector enterprises and public services, the policies of outsourcing, contractualisation and casualisation of workforce, against the anti-workers, pro-employer four Labour Codes meant to suppress and cripple the trade union movement, increase in working hours, to snatch their right to collective bargaining, right to strike, decriminalisation of violation of labour laws by employers, while criminalising the activities of trade unions etc. “The government is making false claims on employment and provisions of social security. The existing social security schemes are being weakened and attempts to bring private players into it are pushed,” they said.
They also added that unions in the coal and minerals sectors, steel, banking and insurance sectors, power, petroleum and telecom industries and the transport sector have given notices for the strike. “We are making continued efforts forging unity and solidarity between the two major productive forces of the country, the workers and farmers,” they said.
Amarjeet Kaur, senior trade union leader and All India Trade Union Congress general secretary, has told the media that the strike is very significant to prepare working class and the farming community and agricultural labourers for a long-drawn battle. Questioning the government move to curb trade union rights, she said investors are not coming to India not because of workers, but because of the government policy of promoting one or two companies. She also asserted while speaking to The Hindu that this general strike will be the start of larger movements in India. When there are close to 15 lakh job vacancies in the central public sector units (PSUs) and central government, why has the Modi 3.0 government started recruiting those who are already retired for lesser salaries and without any social security? They have done this in Railways and in the steel sector. This trend of outsourcing and contractualising many jobs is dangerous as it is causing widespread unemployment, she added.
The notices of the general strike have been served at banks, insurance companies, steel sector, coal sector, minerals and petroleum sector, copper sector and in some airports. Rail workers will also have mobilisations in support of strike, but no strike there. Defence sector is going on strike. The unions have predicted a “bandh-like” of situation in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Punjab, Bihar, Kerala, West Bengal and in many other States. Opposition parties have been approached by the unions, and they have extended their support. Workers in unions affiliated with the BMS (Bharatiya Mazdoor Saangh, an RSS affiliate) have also reportedly pledged support.
Which sectors are affected due to the Bharat Bandh?
- Banking services
- Postal services
- Coal mining and factories
- State transport services
- Public sector units and government departments
What’s open on Bharat Bandh?
- Schools and colleges
- Private offices
Other complaints of the striking organisations include the fact that the government has not been conducting the annual labour conference for the last decade s and continues to take decisions in contravention to the interest of labour force, attempting to impose four labour codes to weaken collective bargaining, to cripple unions’ activities and to favour employers in the name of ‘ease of doing business’.
The forum also alleged that the economic policies are resulting in acute unemployment, rising prices of essential commodities, depression in wages, cut in social sector spending in education, health, basic civic amenities, and all these are leading to more inequalities and miseries for poor, people of lower income group as well as the middle class.
In a statement put out on the eve of the general strike, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has also appealed to people to make the general strike on July 9, 2025 a grand success. Among key demands as stated above are the repeal of four Labour Codes, MSP@C2+50% for all Crops, Minimum Wage of Rs.26000 / month, ‘No Privatisation of PSU’s’, ‘Stop Casualisation of Employment’, ‘Freedom from Indebtedness’, all of which are critical to protect Agriculture, Industry and Services.
Apart from supporting demands of the workers, SKM urges the peasantry to intensify struggle on independent demands including enact law for MSP@C2+50% with guaranteed procurement for all crops, comprehensive loan waiver to free the peasantry from the debt trap and end rampant peasant suicides across India, withdrawal of National Policy Framework on Agriculture Marketing, not to sign the Indo-US Bilateral Trade Agreement hurting agriculture, industry and services, no privatisation of electricity, end indiscriminate acquisition of land violating the LARR Act 2013, ensure 200 days’ work and Rs.600 as daily wages in NREGS, provide minimum wage, social security and Rs. 10000 monthly pensions for agricultural workers, peasants and rural labourers, formalisation of Scheme workers, legal protection to the rights of migrant workers and tenant farmers among others. The SKM has also called upon the entire working people including farmers, workers and agricultural workers to rally massively to hold tehsil level demonstrations and make the General strike successful.
The General Strike is also against the imposition of free trade agreements on Indian people. US’ dominance on world trade has unleashed all efforts to coerce the Modi Government to impose unfair trade terms and to dump US agricultural products in India. The intention of the free trade agreement is ‘unregulated freedom for US food chains, trading giants and agribusiness corporations to operate in India.’ ‘Tariff free import of huge quantity of highly subsidised milk and milk products, soybean, cotton, mice, wheat, rice, pulses, oilseeds, paddy, GM crops, fruits and vegetables including apple and walnuts, processed and canned foods’ into Indian markets will devastate the income and livelihood of Indian farmers.
The Trump Administration has been compelling the Modi Government to wind up PDS food distribution and withdraw all subsidies for farmers on fuel and fertilisers, says the SKM. It wants India to change its patent laws to suit American companies. These changes will erode the independence of Indian farmers and bring disastrous impact on food security.
The SKM statement also asserts that the Indian people will not accept the ‘enslavement of the workforce’ through four Labour Codes and corporatisation of agriculture. The farmers are on a path of struggle for the last two decades and more to achieve the long pending demands of MSP2 C2+50% with guaranteed procurement and comprehensive loan waiver.
Minimum wage to workers and minimum support price to the farmers are crucial to accomplish higher purchasing power, employment generation and agriculture led growth of the domestic economy. Reversing the anti-worker, anti-farmer policies of the RSS-BJP combine is indispensable to protect the interests of the working people and the country.
This is the 22nd General Strike since the advent of neo-liberal policies in India in 1991. The success of July 9, 2025 strike will ignite more massive, mightier struggles larger than the 2020-21 historic farmers struggle at Delhi borders actively supported by the working class, states the SKM. The massive strike will be intensified until all the genuine demands of the workers and the peasantry are realised. SKM appeals to the entire working people to make the July 9, 2025 General strike as one of the largest ever worker-peasant united action since independence.
Meanwhile, the Central Kisan Committee (CKC) meeting of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) held from June 28-30, 2025 at the E K Nayanar Academy, Kannur, Kerala, decided to hold massive protests on July 9, along with the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) at the tehsil level, and work actively to make the General Strike called by the Central Trade Unions (CTUs) a massive success.
The meeting at Kannur discussed the grim agrarian scenario in the country, and the anti-farmer, pro-corporate policies of the BJP-led NDA government. It also noted that the Congress-led State Governments in Karnataka, Telangana etc are also carrying forward the BJP Government’s policies like Labour Codes, 12-hour work day, land acquisition etc.
The meeting warned against the hurried moves of the Modi regime to sign Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with UK (already signed), USA, EU, etc., which surrender the interests of farmers, workers and MSME entrepreneurs, violate federal principles and put Parliament in the dark. These FTAs will drastically reduce or eliminate import duties on key agricultural products, threatening the livelihoods of millions of Indian farmers, stated the AIKS.
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