Trade unions stage protest in Mysuru as part of nationwide general strike

Members of the Joint Action Committee (JAC), comprising various trade unions and employees’ associations in Mysuru district, staged a protest in the city on Thursday as part of the nationwide general strike called against the policies of BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.

Opposing the new labour codes, the protesters demanded their immediate withdrawal. They also called for the scrapping of the VB-RAM G Act, which they claimed was introduced after repealing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The demonstrators further sought withdrawal of the Draft Seed Bill and the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025.

Members of CITU, AIUTUC, AICCTU and other progressive organisations participated in the strike. Farmers’, Dalits and several other organisations extended their support. A rally was taken out through the city, culminating in a public meeting where trade union leaders addressed the gathering and outlined their demands. A demonstration was also held near Gandhi Square, with protesters raising slogans and holding placards.

Despite the strike call, normal life in the city remained largely unaffected. KSRTC buses and private transport operated as usual, and commercial establishments functioned without disruption.

The unions demanded withdrawal of amendments to the Land Acquisition Act and called for scrapping of the Land Reforms Act and the APMC Act. They also strongly opposed the proposed privatisation of the power sector and sought withdrawal of the Insurance Amendment law and the Draft Seed Bill.

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) urged the Karnataka government to withdraw its notification implementing the new labour codes and to oppose what it termed as “anti-people”, “anti-farmer” and “anti-worker” policies of the Centre.

The trade unions, in a statement, demanded that the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Minimum Wages, submitted in August last year, be treated as final and notified without further delay.

In the statement, the JAC alleged that the labour codes constituted not just an “economic assault” but a political one as well. It claimed that workers’ right to form unions in factories had been curtailed and that the wage share of workers had declined from 30.27 per cent to 15.97 per cent.

The new rules, they said, provide for imprisonment, penalties and indefinite wage cuts in the event of protests in support of workers’ demands. They further alleged that allowing factories employing fewer than 300 workers to shut down without prior approval was a grave injustice that favoured capitalist interests.

Criticising the scrapping of MGNREGA, the committee said the move would deprive rural households of their livelihood. The unions also criticised the Congress government in the State, accusing it of pursuing “anti-farmer” policies.