Bharat Bandh: Which services will be hit on July 9? Over 25 crore workers to go on strike against…
Bharat Bandh: Critical public services are likely to be hit on July 9 as over 25 crore workers from sectors like banking, insurance, postal services to coal mining, are expected to go on a nationwide strike. Dubbed the ‘Bharat Bandh’, the countrywide strike been called by a joint forum of 10 central trade unions to protest against the alleged “anti-worker, anti-farmer, and anti-national pro-corporate policies” of the central government.
How trade unions plan to pressure the govt with Bharat Bandh?
According to union leaders, the Bharat Bandh strike is designed to cripple both the formal and informal sectors to put pressure the government to meet their demands. “More than 25 crore workers are expected to take part in the strike. Farmers and rural workers will also join the protest across the country,” said All India Trade Union Congress member Amarjeet Kaur.
Experts believe that public services ranging from banking to postal sectors and transport will be hugely impacted due to the bandh. “Banking, postal, coal mining, factories, and state transport services will be affected due to the strike,” said Harbhajan Singh Sidhu of the Hind Mazdoor Sabha
What are the demands?
The trade unions have submitted a list of 17 demands to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, but have accused the Narendra Modi government of ignoring these, and not convening a labour conference in the last 10 years, which they allege display’s Centre’s apathy towards the country’s labour force.
In a joint statement, the unions have also criticized the government’s labour reforms, which introduces four new labour codes. The protesters allege that these reforms are designed to erode workers’ rights, aim to dismantle collective bargaining as well as weaken union activities, add more working hours, and shield employers from accountability.
‘Labour codes meant to suppress workers’
The trade unions’ forum also accused the BJP-led NDA government of abandoning the welfare state model of governance, alleging that the Modi government was instead working to further the interests of mega corporates, both foreign and local, which is evident from its anti-worker policies.
They further alleged that the four labour codes passed in the Parliament are designed to “suppress and cripple workers, raise work hours, and snatch away the right to strike, and workers’ right to collectively bargain and decriminalize the violation of labour laws by employers”.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, which was at the forefront of the farmers’ protest, as well as the joint front of the agricultural worker unions, have extended support to the Bharat Bandh strike.
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