Activists and members of various political parties block the traffic in Bhubaneswar on 9 July 2025 as part of nationwide strike. Photo Credit: Biswaranjan Rout

Millions took to the streets all over India on Wednesday 9 July to observe a national strike call made by Central Trade Unions (CTU). They are striking against the anti-worker policies adopted by the ultra-right-wing government in the country.

CTU is a platform of all the major trade union federations in the country, spanning the ideological and political spectrum. It includes the Center for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and several others.

The strike was also supported by all the major groups of farmers, students, women, and various professional unions such as teachers, journalists, and IT employees in the country.

According to various estimates, more than 250 million workers and farmers—both in organized and unorganized sectors—directly participated in the strike and protests across the country.

Workers in other organized sectors such as ports, airports, and banking also participated alongside those in various public sectors.

The strike affected most of the industrial activities in the country, particularly industries related to mining.

#Strike #GeneralStrike बी टी आर वाडको एम्पलाइज यूनियन के साथी अपनी कंपनी एस एफ सी सॉल्यूशन साहिबाबाद के गेट पर हड़ताल को कामयाब बनाते हुए। pic.twitter.com/311IoxICHS

— CPIM DELHI (@CPIMSTATEDELHI) July 9, 2025

In several places, workers blocked the movement of trains, blocked highways, and picketed factory gates to mobilize greater support. In some cases, such as the Kochi refinery in the southern state of Kerala, workers defied court orders and observed the strike.

Picket lines stand strong and militant in front of the factory gate.#9thJulyGeneralStrikepic.twitter.com/V2a33uoQT9

— CITU CENTRE (@cituhq) July 9, 2025

A total shut down of all major business was observed in various states in the country such as Kerala, Tripura, Bihar, Jharkhand, and others.

 Anti-worker labor codes must be withdrawn

The workers were demanding immediate withdrawal of the new labor codes enacted by the ultra-right-wing government led by Narendra Modi at the center in 2020. CTU claims the four new labor codes are anti-worker, depriving them of their basic rights, including the right to collective bargaining, which was won through a historic and painful worker’s struggle.

The other major demands include:

• The end of the privatization and contractualization of jobs

• A national minimum wage of Rs. 26,000 (USD 303)

• Improvements in working conditions across all sectors for all kinds of workers

Trade union workers take out a march in West Bengal. #GeneralStrike #StrikeHard pic.twitter.com/hxrTd0AoYY

— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) July 9, 2025

The strike also supported the demands raised by the country’s major farmers groups, led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), for a legal minimum support price for all farm produce, the waiving of loans for farmers, an end to all forced land acquisition, and better employment opportunities.

The strike was originally scheduled for May 19. It had to be postponed following the war-like situation in the region created after India attacked several locations inside neighboring Pakistan, accusing it of supporting armed groups who carried out attacks on tourists in Pahalgam.

 Popular action defeats government lies

A central protest rally was held in the national capital Delhi. The protest was attended by all the constituents of CTU and SKM, the farmers collective which has extended support to the strike.

Addressing the rally, Tapan Sen, general secretary of CITU and a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) polit bureau, claimed that the success of the strike demolishes the myths created by the Modi government about the so-called economic prosperity his government’s policies have created.

Most Indians today are struggling to find a decent source of livelihood and those who have one are struggling to protect it from the effects of the various wrongful and pro-corporate policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, Sen underlined.

The lies about India being the third or fourth largest economy in the world, propagated by the present government in the country and magnified by the complicit media, have been exposed by the sheer number of people who participated in today’s strike. It establishes the fact that under Modi’s decade-long rule the condition of the working classes in India has gone from bad to worse, Sen told the protesters gathered at the rally.

Sen also warned the government against going ahead with the proposed trade deal with the US, claiming that would further compromise the interest of workers and farmers in India.

Amarjeet Kaur, general secretary of the AITUC, claimed that the BJP used pro-government unions to divide the working classes in the country and falsely called the strike “illegal”.

“The attempts to divide the working class, so that the interest of its corporate bosses are protected, was defeated by the successful strike” Kaur declared. She noted that this was the fourth such strike since 2020 and more such strikes will happen in the future, with more intensity, if the government fails to correct its ways and take back the four draconian labor codes, and enact laws which really benefit the working classes of this country.

Abdul Rahman