“Achhe din (happy days)? This government has pushed us into hell!” says an angry Sukhdev Prasad, a lathe machine operator in one of Ghaziabad’s industrial areas. His contempt for the Narendra Modi government, and his withering comment on the now-forgotten promise made by Prime Minister Modi, is matched only by his simmering anger.
Sukhdev and his co-workers are looking forward to the general strike on November 26, called by 10 central trade unions to demand roll-back of the new labour laws and also scrap the three new farming related laws that will open up the agrarian sector to corporate entities and lead to low prices for farmers but price hikes for consumers.
On November 19, an unprecedented meeting of the Joint Platform of Trade Unions and the umbrella forum of farmers’ organisations (All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee) that has over 300 constituent organisations, took place to chalk out the strategy for what could be a watershed moment in India’s long history of peoples’ struggles. Never before has there been such close coordination between the most oppressed classes, the farmers and agricultural labourers, converging with industrial workers and employees in public and private sectors.
This may lead to not only the general strike of November 26, one of the biggest and most effective ones but the farmers’ march to Delhi, planned to coincide with the strike would take this protest into hitherto uncharted territory.
Farmers Set to Occupy Roads Leading to Delhi
According to the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), farmers from neighbouring states are planning to move to Delhi from different points and will be coming prepared with food and bedding for spending as much time as the government forces them to.
“Over two lakh farmers from Punjab, Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh will be moving to Delhi to participate in a massive rally, demanding withdrawal of the three agriculture related laws, and also, implementation of Swaminathan Commission recommendations on Minimum Support Price, and waiving of all debt. If the government tries to stop them en route, all roads to the Capital will be jammed indefinitely,” said Hannan Mollah, general secretary of AIKS, one of the leading members of the AIKSCC.
26th Strike Continues Wave of Industrial Protests
Early in October, a national convention organised by the Joint Platform had called for the strike, the first to be held during the pandemic, and the second such strike this year. The first one was observed on January 8, and had reported participation of two crore (20 million) workers, making it the biggest strike in history.
Since the convention, which was attended online by nearly one lakh workers, the central trade unions and dozens of independent federations have been campaigning across the country, in all industrial areas, big and small. Major sectors of the economy, including steel, coal, port and dock, telecom, plantation, transport, construction, banking, insurance, power are likely to be affected by the strike. In many other sectors, like the railways and among government employees (both, Central and states) protests will be held.
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