On the 8-9th of January, 150 million workers went on strike in India. The strike was organized by ten different trade unions, covering transport, banks, financial services, government company, power, steel, car and other factory workers. It follows the protests by farm workers, who are joining in the action. Jamie Woodcock was in Bangalore and attended the demonstration on the first day of the strike.
Indian General Strike 2019
“In Bangalore the strike was strong, shutting down transportation across the city. On the 8th of January, the unions called for a demonstration outside the town hall. There was the visible presence of transport workers (mainly bus drivers), factory workers (particularly aerospace), and bank workers, who joined a lively picket from across the road. While the weather reached around 30 celsius, the demo grew more and more packed. Police officers in tan uniforms, equipped with helmets and large batons, kept their distance at the edge of the demo.
“Most of the flags on the demonstration were red, many with hammers and sickles. In Bangalore, the most prominent were the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC). The AITUC is the oldest union federation in India and associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI), with a registered membership of almost 2.7 million. The AIUTUC is the trade union wing of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), with a claimed membership of over 2 million. In addition to this, there were a range of other communist affiliated unions, including AICCTU, TUCC, CITU, and so on. To an outside observer, the differences between their different red flags with hammers and sickles could be a little hard to discern. What was clear was that this strike was mobilizing large numbers of workers.
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First published as The Bullet, No. 1740, 15 January 15, 2019, produced by the Socialist Project. Readers are encouraged to distribute widely.
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