Workers Resistance

On 21st November, 2025 the Union Government issued notifications bringing into force four Labour Codes - the Code on Wages, 2019, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020,(OSH Code) the Social Security Code, 2020; and the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 - that had been passed between 2019 and 2021. The four Labour Codes, presented as an anti-colonial “labour reform”, essentially constitute a reorientation of the State’s role in mediating class relations in the country.

After more than 160 days of relentless struggle, on January 12 the sanitation workers of Chennai, organised under UUI-LTUC–AICCTU, concluded their fight on a positive note with the DMK government agreeing to their core demands. The workers will continue to be paid directly by the Chennai Corporation, successfully defeating privatisation attempts. Minister P.K. Sekar Babu, along with Mayor R. Priya, visited the LTUC office to end the fast by offering juice to the fasting workers.

The following joint statement was issued to the press after meeting of the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Independent Sectoral Federations/Associations on 15th May 2025.