Indian workers rise for rights

The ITUC-Asia Pacific stands in strong solidarity with the working people of India as they prepare for a nationwide strike on 9 July 2025. This mass mobilisation, called by the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Independent Sectoral Federations, reflects both the growing discontent of workers and their collective resistance against policies that erode labour rights, undermine social protection, and threaten public welfare.

Our affiliates — Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), and Confederation of Free Trade Unions of India (CFTUI) — are at the forefront of this historic action. Together with other trade unions under the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Independent Sectoral Federations, they are raising their voices to challenge the rising joblessness, rampant privatisation, deepening inequality, and the alarming deterioration of workers' rights.

By launching a nationwide strike, trade unions in India are resounding the call to uphold the principles of decent work andsocial justice. They are demanding the government to take urgent actions on the following demands:

• The repeal of the four labour codes, which promotes precarious employment and weakens the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining — both of which are contrary to International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Conventions and international labour standards; and
• The establishment of a National Minimum Wage of Rs. 26,000 per month (~USD 303) and a universal pension of Rs. 10,000 per month (~USD 116), along with comprehensive social security for all workers, including those in the informal and agricultural sectors.

The broader set of demands includes the halting of public sector privatisation (including banking, steel, space, etc.), ensuring fair crop prices and procurement, expanding employment schemes, protecting the land rights of farmers affected by corporatisation, and upholding equality, secularism, and gender justice.

They are rooted in the core values enshrined in the ILO and international labour standards — particularly ILO Conventions No. 87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise), No. 98 (Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining), No. 144 (Tripartite Consultation), No. 155 (Occupational Safety and Health [OSH]), and No. 187 (Promotional Framework for OSH), No. 189 (Domestic Workers Convention), No. 190 (Violence and Harassment Convention) — several of which are now recognised as part of the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

The ITUC-Asia Pacific calls on the Government of India to engage in meaningful dialogue with trade unions, reconvene the Indian Labour Conference, and fulfil its international obligations under ILO Conventions, Recommendations, and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

We reaffirm our unwavering support for this united action and urge the international community to stand in solidarity with the workers of India in their just and democratic struggle for decent work, dignity, and rights.

‍In solidarity,

Shoya Yoshida
General Secretary

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