Communist Party of India (CPI)

300 million on the streets in a historic national strike in India

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Original article by Abdul Rahman republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license. See the original article for embedded content.

The strike was called jointly by the worker unions and farmers groups to demand the withdrawal of the anti-people policies, such as the four new labor codes and the recently signed trade deals with the US and the EU.

The strike was called jointly by the worker unions and farmers groups to demand the withdrawal of the anti-people policies, such as the four new labor codes and the recently signed trade deals with the US and the EU

300 million workers, farmers, students, and professionals from various fields took to the streets across India on Thursday, February 12, in defense of their rights and to denounce the policies of the ultra-right-wing government in the country.

Workers went on strike shutting down thousands of coal fields, refineries, factories, banking, and transportation in remote corners of the country, heeding the call of the Central Trade Unions (CTUs), a joint platform of major trade unions in India, including the Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), and the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), among others.

#12thFebruaryGeneralStrike a Historic Success

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) congratulates crores of Indian workers, agricultural workers and toiling peasantry for making the 12th February 2026 General Strike a historic success. The anger of working people against the (1/n) pic.twitter.com/jfItzhDVeg

— AIKS (@KisanSabha) February 12, 2026 

The workers were joined by millions of farmers and agricultural workers from across the country under the call of the Samyukta Kisan Sabha (SKM) and the All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWA), among others. The farmers and agricultural workers demonstrated at all the district headquarters and the village centers across India.

is a warning to the ruling dispensation: Withdraw the slew of anti-people bills and acts and restore the pro-worker and pro-farmer policies. If the Modi government fails to respond adequately to the demands of the toilers of the country, it will be inviting a much longer (9/n) pic.twitter.com/UT0eVGOlqU

— AIKS (@KisanSabha) February 12, 2026 

In several places, workers and farmers were joined by students, women’s organizations, and other civil society groups who extended their solidarity with the strike call.

Strikers in many areas defied attempts by factory owners and security forces to stop the strike by picketing the factory gates and marching on the streets to implement the strike. 

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In several states, such as Kerala, Odisha, and Tripura, among others, most of the business establishments were shut in solidarity with the strike call. Demonstrations were held at government offices with thousands marching, shouting slogans, carrying banners, posters, and red flags.

general strike in the coming days.

Red Salute to the 12th February 2026 General Strike!

Long Live Worker-Peasant Unity!@DrAshokDhawale
President@VijooKrishnan
General Secretary pic.twitter.com/UJEBYFYoIq

— AIKS (@KisanSabha) February 12, 2026 

In the capital, Delhi, workers held large gatherings at the state secretariat. Later they also gathered at Jantar Mantar, where the central leadership of the CTUs and the SKM made speeches calling the strike a success.

Sudip Dutta, president of the CITU, claimed that the one day strike is just symbolic and if the Narendra Modi-led government fails to fulfill their demands it should be ready to see larger and longer strikes in the coming days as workers and farmers will not allow the government to harm their interests or sell India’s national sovereignty to the US and other foreign powers.

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Major demands

One of the major demands of the strike was the withdrawal of the trade deals India has recently agreed to with the US and the EU. The CTUs, SKM, and left parties in India have called the deals a surrender of the country’s sovereignty and harmful to the interests of the millions of farmers in the country as they allow open access of Indian markets to foreign farm products.

general strike in the coming days.

Red Salute to the 12th February 2026 General Strike!

Long Live Worker-Peasant Unity!@DrAshokDhawale
President@VijooKrishnan
General Secretary pic.twitter.com/UJEBYFYoIq

— AIKS (@KisanSabha) February 12, 2026 

Another key demand was the withdrawal of the four new labor codes brought by the Modi government despite long term opposition by the trade unions, and withdrawal of a new rural employment guarantee act called the VB GRAM G Act.

The SKM and the AIAWU have claimed that the VB GRAM G Act actually makes the right to employment ineffective. They want the earlier MGNREGA back which was withdrawn by the government.

general strike in the coming days.

Red Salute to the 12th February 2026 General Strike!

Long Live Worker-Peasant Unity!@DrAshokDhawale
President@VijooKrishnan
General Secretary pic.twitter.com/UJEBYFYoIq

— AIKS (@KisanSabha) February 12, 2026 

Farmers and workers in India have also been demanding the withdrawal of a series of laws brought by the Modi government, such as the electricity law, seed bill, and others, calling them pro-corporate and anti-people.

Punjab Electricity Employees, Peasants and Agricultural Workers on #GeneralStrike#12thfebgeneralstrike pic.twitter.com/RDDVwL10Zo

— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) February 12, 2026 

The protection of India’s secular and democratic polity was one of the major demands raised during the strike. The CTUs, the SKM and others believe that the Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-government is threatening the secular and democratic nature of India by pursuing majoritarian and authoritarian actions.

The #12FebGeneralStrike was observed across West Bengal with marches and rallies. #GeneralStrike pic.twitter.com/icu1ZfPJFD

— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) February 12, 2026 

The major left parties in the country: Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation and others also supported the strike call.

The CITU and the SKM thanked millions for participating in the strike on Thursday, calling it “historic”. They mentioned the large-scale participation of workers from unorganized sectors and peasants and cautioned the government to listen to their demands. 

Original article by Abdul Rahman republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue Reading300 million on the streets in a historic national strike in India

Solidarity protests erupt across Tamil Nadu as Samsung workers’ strike enters fourth week

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Original article republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Across Tamil Nadu, workers and cadre of CITU and CPI (M) staged road blockades in support of the Samsung workers’ strike and the demand for recognition of their union. Photo: CPI(M) TN

Major left parties have called for a joint protest against the state government’s failure to recognize the SIWU and management’s anti-workers attitude on October 5.

Hundreds of workers at the Samsung electronics factory in India’s Tamil Nadu state staged roadblocks and a sit-in on Monday, September 30 as their strike entered its fourth week. Thousands of cadres of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from across Tamil Nadu also joined the call of the Samsung workers and risked arrest and police repression.

According to the news reports, over 900 striking workers were detained by the police in the Kanchipuram district. The police also detained the state president of the Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU), A Soundararajan. They were released later that evening.

Over 1,300 workers of Samsung electronics factory in Sriperumbudur, part of the Kanchipuram district near Chennai have been on strike since September 9 under the leadership of newly formed Samsung India Workers’ Union (SIWU) demanding recognition of their union, a salary increase, an end of discrimination, and better working conditions at the factory.

Samsung has only two factories in India. Its Chennai factory has been operating since 2007 without any union. The SIWU was formed in July 2023. According to its president E Muthukumar, over 90% of workers at the Chennai factory have already joined the union.

The call for roadblocks was given following the failure of five rounds of talks between the management and the SIWU under the mediation of the Tamil Nadu Ministry of Labor. The last talks on September 24 were held by the state government after it faced strong reactions from the unions and left parties following the police action on the striking workers earlier.

The state government intervened after the management refused to have direct talks with the SIWU calling it illegitimate. The management has maintained that it does not recognize the newly formed union and instead constituted a “workers committee” and arbitrarily appointed workers to it. The management has even lodged objections to SIWU’s registration claiming its use of the company’s name is illegal.

Monday’s sit-ins and roadblocks also targeted the state government’s delaying the registration of the union in violation of legal procedures and using its security forces to unleash repression on striking workers.

SIWU is affiliated to CITU, one of India’s largest trade unions, affiliated to the left party CPI(M). As per labor law, the registration application must be processed within 45 days of filling of such an application. The SIWU claims it has been more than three months since it filed for registration.

When SIWU tried to call a rally in support of its demands on September 16 the police attacked the workers and arrested its leadership even trying to dismantle the protest site erected almost a kilometer away from the factory.

State units of all left parties in Tamilnadu, including the Communist Party of India (CPI), CPI (M) and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation on Wednesday launched the call for a statewide protest on Saturday, October 5 in support of the SIWU workers. They issued a joint statement asking the state government to immediately recognize SIWU. They blamed that the strike is continuing because of the “anti-worker attitude” of the management of Samsung electronics.

Kannan, a state committee member of CITU, told Peoples Dispatch that the management is adamant but the workers are ready to fight till their demands are met.

Kannan also informed that workers are observing a day of hunger strike on October 2 on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi to press the point that they will continue to protest peacefully in support of their demands.

Original article republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue ReadingSolidarity protests erupt across Tamil Nadu as Samsung workers’ strike enters fourth week