THE general body meeting of the Samyukt   Kisan Morcha (SKM) was held in New Delhi on April 20, with delegates from across India. The meeting resolved to extend full support to the All India General Strike of workers called by the Central Trade Unions (CTUs) on May 20, 2025. The strike is being organised in opposition to four Labour Codes which are the pro-corporate and the ongoing push for privatisation, among other pressing demands. SKM has called upon farmers and agricultural workers across the country to actively support the General Strike and mobilise in large numbers for tehsil-level protests. These protests will be organised both independently to highlight farmers’ demands and jointly with workers to express solidarity with their struggles. The specific forms of protest will be decided locally, depending on the ground realities.

While expressing solidarity with workers, SKM will also campaign on a range of demands concerning the farming community and rural workers. These include the implementation of Minimum Support Price (MSP) based on the C2+50 per cent formula with legally guaranteed procurement, a comprehensive loan waiver for farmers, and the immediate withdrawal of the New Pension Scheme (NPFAM). SKM also opposes the Indo-US Bilateral Trade Agreement, which it sees as a betrayal of Indian farmers’ interests in favour of US imperialism. Further demands include the provision of 200 days of employment under MGNREGA with a daily wage of Rs 600, guaranteed minimum wages, comprehensive social security, and a monthly pension of Rs 10,000 for agricultural workers. The movement will also push for the recognition of scheme workers as government employees and the recognition of the rights of migrant workers and tenant farmers.

The general body meeting strongly criticised the Modi government for attempting to enforce the four Labour Codes, which it views as a direct assault on the hard-won rights of workers. These codes, once implemented, would effectively eliminate workers’ rights to a minimum wage, an eight-hour workday, the right to unionise, and other basic labour protections. They pave the way for large-scale informalisation by permitting employers to hire workers at will, stripping them of access to benefits such as health insurance and retirement security.

According to SKM, the four Labour Codes effectively legalise contract labour and institutionalise a hire-and-fire regime. Their implementation would not only erode the rights of the current workforce but would have long-lasting impacts on future generations of workers across sectors. The codes pose a significant threat to the health, well-being, and survival of crores of industrial and service sector workers, many of whom come from farmer families and rural backgrounds. The youth of peasant households, in particular, will find themselves further excluded from formal employment opportunities that offer social security and retirement benefits.

In response to this alarming situation, SKM announced it will launch a special campaign among the peasantry to raise awareness about the dangers posed by the four Labour Codes. The campaign will also expose what it describes as the abject surrender of the RSS-BJP regime to corporate interests at the cost of workers’ and farmers’ rights.

The SKM general body strongly criticised the repression and arrest of agitating farmers, both during the SKM-led planned sit-in in Chandigarh starting March 5, and at the Khanauri and Shambhu borders on March 19, which occurred immediately after talks between the SKM National Platform and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) concluded with the AAP-led Punjab state government. These actions reveal the anti-farmer stance of the AAP government and its servility to corporate and multinational interests, as well as its complete submission to the dictates of the BJP-led Modi government.

The general body also resolved to extend full solidarity and support to the strike by electricity sector workers scheduled for June 26, 2025, opposing privatisation and the imposition of prepaid smart meters. SKM reiterated its demand for the provision of 300 units of free electricity to all consumers.

SKM units will organise effigy burnings of Donald Trump, Narendra Modi, and J D Vance from April 21 to 23, 2025, in protest against US pressure on the Modi government to impose unfair trade terms and allow the dumping of American agricultural products in India. This agenda aims to give unregulated freedom to US-based food chains, trading giants, and agribusiness corporations to operate in India. The tariff-free import of large quantities of highly subsidised US products – including milk and milk products, soybean, cotton, maize, wheat, rice, pulses, oilseeds, paddy, GM crops, fruits, vegetables, and processed and canned foods – will devastate the income and livelihoods of Indian farmers. The Trump administration has been pressuring the Modi government to dismantle the Public Distribution System (PDS) and eliminate subsidies on fuel and fertilizers for farmers. Additionally, it seeks amendments to Indian patent laws to favour American corporations. These demands will harm the Indian farmers and pose a severe risk to the nation’s food security.

The general body further decided to launch a focused campaign in Bihar, including the organisation of ten Mahapanchayats, to raise awareness among the people and mobilise them to defeat the anti-farmer BJP and NDA in the upcoming state assembly elections scheduled for November 2025. Leaders from SKM's all-India leadership will actively participate in this campaign.

Additionally, the general body called upon all state units to hold conventions and Mahapanchayats at the district level to explain the implications of the New Pension Scheme (NPFAM), the Indo-US Bilateral Trade Agreement, and electricity privatisation. These efforts will be coordinated with trade unions, agricultural workers’ unions, and MGNREGA workers’ unions to ensure the success of the General Strike and mass protests planned for May 20, 2025.

The general body meeting was presided over by Hannan Mollah, Darshan Pal, and Badgalpur Nagendra from Karnataka.