Mixed response to nationwide trade union strike in Chhattisgarh

Thousands of employees and workers affiliated with various trade unions, independent federations and some state government departments staged protests and rallies across districts, said Dharmraj Mahapatra, convener of the joint forum of trade unions. The strike was called by a joint forum of central trade unions to show their resistance to anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national pro-corporate policies of the central government.

A day-long nationwide strike called by trade unions against the Centre's four new labour codes and alleged anti-worker policies evoked a mixed response in Chhattisgarh on Thursday. Several nationalised banks remained closed as employees joined the strike. Staff of insurance companies, post offices, along with labourers and farmers, also participated in the agitation, affecting operations in their respective sectors. Mining activities in the mineral-rich state were partially hit. However, transport services functioned normally, and shops, markets and most business establishments remained open. Normal life was largely unaffected in many areas, including Durg district, where operations at the Bhilai Steel Plant continued as usual. Thousands of employees and workers affiliated with various trade unions, independent federations and some state government departments staged protests and rallies across districts, said Dharmraj Mahapatra, convener of the joint forum of trade unions. Protesters gathered outside the LIC divisional office in Pandri in Raipur. The strike was called by a joint forum of central trade unions to show their ''resistance to anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national pro-corporate policies of the central government''. The Congress extended its support to the strike, he said. Mahapatra alleged that the new labour codes favour corporates in the name of 'ease of doing business' at the cost of workers' rights and social security protections. Protests were also held in the Rajnandgaon district, where trade unions and farmer groups demonstrated. In Korba, several employees of coal mines of South Eastern Coalfields Limited in Korba also took part in the protest, said VM Manohar, a local trade union leader. No untoward incident was reported from any part of the state, officials said. The joint forum of central trade unions that has called for the strike claimed that around 30 crore workers have been mobilised for the agitation. Their immediate demands include the scrapping of four labour codes and rules, withdrawal of the Draft Seed Bill and Electricity Amendment Bill, and the ''Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act''. The unions are also demanding the restoration of MGNREGA and the scrapping of the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025. The joint forum includes INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC.

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