Bharat Bandh Tomorrow: All You Need to Know About Wednesday’s Shutdown

India is bracing for a massive shutdown on Wednesday as more than 25 crore workers are expected to walk off their jobs on Wednesday, supported by farmers and rural workers across the country.

Dubbed as Bharat Bandh by organisers, the strike is being called by a united front of 10 central trade unions to protest against the central government’s policies, which they describe as “anti-worker, anti-farmer and pro-corporate.”

The strike is expected to hit services hard, with employees in sectors like banking, insurance, coal mining, postal services, public transport, factories, and informal industries taking part.

According to the trade unions, preparations for the nationwide action have been underway for months, with grassroots campaigns in cities, towns, and villages mobilising workers from both organised and unorganised sectors.

“All sections of the working class are angry,” said Amarjeet Kaur, general secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). “We’ve seen no effort from the government to address our concerns. Over 25 crore workers are expected to join this strike, and farmers too will be holding massive protests across rural areas.”

The Hind Mazdoor Sabha’s Harbhajan Singh Sidhu echoed these concerns, warning that essential services will be disrupted. “Banks, post offices, transport, coal mines—all will be impacted. State transport workers, factory employees, even scheme workers and daily wage earners are coming together for this,” he said.

At the heart of the strike is a long-pending 17-point list of demands that the unions submitted to the Centre last year. These include issues like minimum wages, pension and social security for all, an end to contract and casual labour, rollback of privatisation plans, price controls on essential goods, and guarantees for farmers' rights. However, union leaders say there has been no meaningful response from the government.

One of the most contentious issues is the implementation of the four new labour codes passed by Parliament. Trade unions argue that the codes, if enforced, will drastically weaken labour protections—by extending working hours, eroding job security, curtailing the right to strike, and limiting union activities. “These laws are a direct attack on the rights of workers won through decades of struggle,” said a joint statement issued by the trade union platform.

The unions also allege that the government is actively dismantling public sector units and services, replacing permanent jobs with contractual ones, outsourcing essential operations, and opening up core sectors to private companies. “The government has completely abandoned its duty to protect workers and farmers. Every policy today benefits big corporates while pushing ordinary people to the margins,” the statement said.

Adding strength to the strike is the support extended by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the umbrella body of farmer unions that led the historic 2020–21 protests against the now-repealed farm laws. The farmers’ unions have announced they will organise protest marches, village-level meetings, and sit-ins across rural India on the day of the strike, in full solidarity with the workers.

This united front of workers and farmers is not new. In recent years, there has been growing collaboration between trade unions and agricultural organisations, as both face the heat of policies that are seen as favouring corporate interests over people’s welfare.

The upcoming protest follows earlier nationwide strikes held on November 26, 2020, March 28–29, 2022, and February 16, 2024, each drawing millions of participants. But organisers say Wednesday’s strike could surpass them all in scale and intensity, given the rising frustration among India’s working population.

Reports from various states suggest that preparations are well underway. Roadshows, local meetings, pamphlet distributions, and worker conventions have been held across industrial zones, railway towns, and even remote rural districts. Workers’ groups in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh are reportedly gearing up for full participation. In West Bengal, however, the state government has issued strict warnings against disruption of services, setting the stage for possible confrontations.

The strike also comes at a time when inflation, job insecurity, and wage stagnation are being widely felt. For many workers, especially those in informal or precarious employment, this protest is more than a symbolic act—it’s a desperate call to be heard.

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