Nationwide Strike On January 8: Nearly 25 Crore People To Protest Against Modi Government's Policies

Nearly 25 crore people are to take part in a nationwide strike on Wednesday, January 8, to raise their voice against the ‘anti-people’ policies of Narendra Modi-led BJP government.

Ten Central Trade unions, namely: INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF, UTUC along with other sectoral independent federations and associations adopted a declaration in September 2019 to carry out a nationwide strike on January 8, 2020.

They also expressed their dissatisfaction over the fact that no Indian Labour Conference has been held since July 2015 and their displeasure over the codification of labour laws and privatization of PSUs.

The Times Of India reported that the above-mentioned trade unions released a joint statement revealing the participation of about 60 student organizations of several universities in oppose to the fee structure and commercialization of education.

“We expect the participation of not less than 25 crores of working people in the forthcoming National General Strike on January 8, 2020, to be followed by many more actions seeking reversal of the anti-worker, anti-people, anti-national, policies of the government,” it said.

It further added, “as many as 12 airports are already sold out to private hands, 100 per cent sale of Air India is already decided, the decision to sell BPCL taken, BSNL-MTNL merger announced and 93,600 telecom workers already thrown out of jobs under the garb of voluntary retirement scheme.”

The unions also denounced the violence taking over the country and extended their condolences and solidarity with those affected.

The joint platform of more than 175 unions of farmers and agricultural workers will extend their support to workers’ demands and observe January 8 as ‘Gramin Bharat Bandh’ along with their charter of demands, The Times of India additionally outlined.

Also Read: Bharat Bandh: Day 1 Of Central Trade Unions’ Protest Against Modi Govt’s ‘Anti-People’ Policies