Approximately 20 crore workers are expected to actively participate in a two-day Bharat Bandh, protest the policies of the Union Government
The Joint Forum of Central Trade Union called for a 2-day nationwide strike from 28th to 29th March 2022.
The Union held a meeting in Delhi for the same on 22nd March 2022. The strike was a result of the “anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-national policies” introduced by the Union Government.
The High Court of Kerala has issued an order countering the mass movement. Approximately 20 crore workers are estimated to join the protest.
Trade Unions all across the country famously received the call for protest by the Joint Forum of Central Trade Union. The strike started on Monday, 28th March 2022. It was set to be a two-day strike decided in the meeting held in Delhi on 22nd March 2022.
The first phase of the protest started on 28th March 2022 at 6 A.M. The Trade Union released a statement stating that the strike was held to counter the “anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-national policies”. The policies were introduced by the Union Government.
The mass movement is estimated to bring about the support of 20 crore workers. The General Secretary of the All-India Trade Union Congress stated that she expected the involvement of workers from over 10 trade unions across the country.
Several trade unions are scheduled to appear in support of the strike. The ones confirmed were the Indian National Union Congress, All India United Trade Union Centre, Trade Union Coordination Centre, Self-Employed women’s association, All India Central Council of Trade Unions, United Trade Union Congress, and Hind Mazdoor Sabha.
In addition to this, the Assam, Delhi, West Bengal, Haryana, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Rajasthan, Goa, Odisha and Punjab Industrial regions portrayed a positive response to the Bharat Bandh. Meanwhile, The Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh coal mining belt also showed their keen involvement in the same.
However, there are trade unions that were not completely in tally with the decision. The RSS associated with Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) refrained from supporting the strike. They made claims that the two-day strike was politically driven and motivated.
The strike was aimed at certain demands from the worker’s side in response to the policies of the Union Government. They strived to prevent the scrapping of the National Monetization Pipeline and privatization of any form.
Furthermore, they also aimed at a fair increase in the allocation of wages for the MNAREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) as well as contract workers’ regulation.
The State governments battled the forecasted consequences of the Bandh and took some precautions. The Electricity and State authorities were instructed to stay ultra-vigilant during the protest. They were asked to make sure that the power grid works normally. An advisory was issued by the power ministry for the same.
The Government offices remained closed on Monday, 28th March 2022 in Kerala. The streets were nearly deserted. The vehicles (KSRTC, trucks, lorries) were not operating to prove their support for the Bharat Bandh.
The Kerala High Court division bench issues an order to counter this. They forwarded the order to the state government.
They asked them to ensure that the Government servants did not participate in the two-day strike. There was very low attendance of employees in the Government offices on Monday, 28th March 2022. The educational institutes were shut down as well.
Published By: Manan Khurana
Edited by: Subbuthai Padma
