Support continued to flow in for the all-India General strike on March 29, 2022, the second day of the 48-hour workers protest. Despite court restrictions and the danger of Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) laws, workers persisted with their dharnas and received tremendous response.
Central Trade Unions (CTUs) and independent Sectoral Federations and Associations estimated over two crore workers of organised and unorganised sectors, government departments, private establishments, small-medium-micro enterprises, rural and urban working people, participated in the demonstrations in different ways.
Protesters decried how the Centre led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) allegedly “put on sale” national resources and national assets including infrastructure for “corporate benefits” and foreign brands. Leaders addressing a protest demonstration at Jantar Mantar, Delhi on Tuesday spoke about the unemployment level that has reached 12 percent. Citing government statistics, CTUs said the youth below 25 years are the majority among the unemployed.
Still the government pushes for the National Monetisation Pipeline project that allows private corporations to take over infrastructure PSUs allegedly for “free”, said leaders.
“Emboldened by election results, the policy of selling out of land of the Central Public Sector enterprises has been rolled out, the interest rate on the provident fund of workers has been brought down from 8.5 percent to 8.1 percent. Privatisation of banks is talked about vigorously, selling off substantial portion of the LIC funds, and there are talks of a report of the Supreme Court committee on farm laws being in the air,” said All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) General Secretary Amarjeet Kaur.
It was for this reason that, she said in statement, that over 20 crore workers “facing all odds, ESMA, intimidation, and obstructions of all kinds including the high-handedness of police in some cases and high court order in Kerala prohibiting strike for BPCL and government employees” protested. This included ASHAs, anganwadi workers, students, etc.
On the first day, bank and insurance companies’ employees already refused to enter their work places. Further, workers of sectors coal, Vizag steel, oil and LPG plants, power-grid, copper, telecom and cement struck work from March 28 morning. Tuticorin and Paradip port workers also struck work.
According to another member trade union Centre of India Trade Unions (CITU), private manufacturing unit workers in Bengaluru industrial area like Bommasandra, Bidapi, Peenyan, Whitefield, Hoskote, Dabaspet industrial areas (Karnataka) also fully joined the strike on the first day. Similarly, Cherlapalli industrial area near Hyderabad was totally closed. The MNCs like Sandvik and Toshiba in Telangana also witnessed complete strike. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu’s industrial areas of Chengalpattu, and Kanchipuram also received great response. According to trade unions, public transport including OLA and Uber were stopped on Monday.
The power loom and spinning mill workers in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and Haryana joined the strike. Hydel power projects also witnessed massive strikes in Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir.
This was an overwhelming denouncement of the four labour codes and other pro-corporate laws of the Centre came from India’s workers, farmers too mobilised in rural areas. Farmers body Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) called upon farmers and agricultural workers to join the strike organized as road-blockades, national highway-blockade and rail-blockade at the local level.
Farmers joined over 500 protests in Tamil Nadu and more than 1.2 lakh people participated in picketing. In Jharkhand, the SKM constituents organized a 12-hour chakka jam on Monday and Tuesday.
“The massive participation in the two-day strike is a clear message to the Narendra Modi-led BJP government that the unity of farmers and workers will resist policies promoting corporate loot and protect the interests of India. The SKM reiterates its support to the workers’ struggle against imposition of Labour Codes and resolves to continue its struggle against the anti-farmer policies of the government,” said the SKM in a joint statement.
Similarly, Forward Seaman’s Union of India General Secretary Manoj Yadav said that members joined the strike as well. He said seafarers are the lifeline of 95 percent of the world’s logistics and played a vital role in Covid – 19 pandemic. Despite their recognition as key workers, their demands for regularization of jobs and pension for retired seafarers are yet to be accepted.
“At present the Indian seafarers who are working for the global shipping giants, which are plying in the mid oceans and also docked in ports also expressed their solidarity for the ongoing All India General Strike from the places around the globe like China, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Malaysia, Iran, etc.,” said Yadav.
In India, seafarers working in offshore and home trade vessels expressed support of the strike from Vizag, Paradeep, Port Blair, Haldia, Salya, Bombay, Mangalore, Madras etc. Even retired and seafarers on-leave voiced solidarity from Earnakulam, Kannur, Kasargod, Port Blair, Madras, Tuticorin, Paradeep, Haldia, Allahabad, Nadia, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Patna, Ranchi, Visakhapatnam etc.
Related:
Over 20 cr estimated participants in workers General Strike
AIPF-R to join workers General strike!
CTUs to hold regular virtual conferences for General Strike
How Silicosis is killing Indian workers
Trade unions condemn move to reduce EPF interest rate to 8.1 percent