The joint platform of 10 Central Trade Unions (CTUs) and SKM, an umbrella organisation of hundreds of farmers’ union in the country have decided jointly to continue their decisive protest action right from the beginning of the year in January against the PM Narendra Modi’s anti-worker, anti-farmer, and pro-corporate policies.

Joint platform of 10 Central Trade Unions (CTUs) – AITUC, INTUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF, and UTUC – and the SKM, an umbrella organisation of about 500 farmers’ unions in the country has struggled through entire 2023. It is worth recalling that a National Convention of Workers was held in New Delhi on 30th January 2023, in which many other independent federations and associations of workers had participated. It had given a call for greater agitation on which the workers have moved into action throughout the country with a slogan “Save the Nation, Save the People”.

The joint meeting of CTUs and SKM held in July 2023, had resolved to jointly fight against the anti-worker, anti-farmer, and anti-people policies of the Modi government and decided to hold a historic joint convention on August 24. In the meantime, farmers and workers struggled with slogans – “PM Modi – Quit India”, “BJP – Quit India”, and “BJP Hatao, Desh Bachao”. They protested in front of Rajbhavans across the country during November 26 and 28, and resorted to numerous protest actions in the months of December 23. As per the plan, protest actions and campaign against the Modi government will be continued in January 2024.

It is just a continuation of the long struggle of the farmers and workers against Modi's controversial three farm laws and four labour codes since 2020, that continued through 2021, 2022, and 2023. Though the three farm laws were withdrawn by PM Narendra Modi in November 2021, farmers are feeling cheated on account of the unfulfilled promises. However, the Modi government is bent upon four controversial labour laws, which have just been deferred due to stiff resistance by CTUs, who feel that if Modi would come to power again, these codes would be rolled out in the second half of the year 2024. They allege that the four labour codes would make the workers just “economic slaves.” It is therefore, CTUs and SKM led workers’ and farmers’ movement is bound to intensify during the election campaigns.

In a recent meeting of the national general body of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) – has decided to strengthen campaigns against the BJP and Narendra Modi led government during the election campaigns to defeat them. CTUs will be joining them in their Jana Jagaran Campaign to be held in 20 states between January 10 and January 20, 2024.

“The aim of this mass campaign is to expose the pro-corporate economic policies of the Narendra Modi-led government, which is detrimental to the interest of farmers, workers, and people at large, causing large scale unemployment, uncontrolled price rise, poverty, indebtedness, and unbridled rural to urban migration. The campaign is against the Modi Governments’ narrative of corporate raj based development dependent on GDP rates. It also wishes to reveal that behind the story of India becoming a three trillion-dollar economy hides the decline in the per capita income, growing income inequality, and denial of minimum support price to farmers and minimum wage to workers,” the SKM has said.

State level coordination committees will meet immediately to prepare for the campaign to target to cover at least 40% of the 30.40 crores households. On January 26, on the Republic Day, the SKM will organise a tractor rally at 500 districts of the States and the Union Territories. On January 26, on the Republic Day, the SKM will organise a tractor rally at 500 districts of the States and the Union Territories.

As the country is heading towards a more informalisation of workers, both in the informal and formal sectors, the trade union movement will have many other challenges ahead. Unemployment rate in the country is very high and real-time wages have been on the decline due to price rise. Organised sectors have been given rights to hire workers on contracts and many jobs are being outsourced. Trade unionism has been considerably weakened ever since the Modi government came to power. Trade unions would not face greater challenges in protecting workers rights but also themselves, in the fast changing world of work. Trade unions would need even widening their membership among informal sector workers to remain relevant in the present circumstances for which they would have to work hard. Larger coalition of workers can only be a solution to protect the labour force and the gains achieved by the glorious labour movement of the country, especially at a time of political uncertainty in the election year.

Modi government’s keen desire and move for implementing the four labour codes along with large scale privatisation of the public sector undertakings in the country have already caused workforce restive, and CTUs had to resort to protest actions including all India strike in the last four years. 2024 would therefore be a year of reckoning for the trade union movement, irrespective of whether PM Modi returns to power or not, on account of the fast changing world of work at a time when the majority of the workforce are without any social security coverage. (IPA Service)