The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has unequivocally condemned the brutal repression unleashed by the BJP-led governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana on the militant and spontaneous struggles of workers across Noida, Greater Noida, Gurugram, and the entire National Capital Region (NCR). This is not merely an industrial dispute - it is a valiant expression of direct class confrontation, where the state machinery is openly acting to defend corporate interests by suppressing workers’ rights.

In the face of this intensified attack, the CITU has called upon Indian workers, especially industrial workers, to stand strong in solidarity with the striking workers and organise massive nationwide protest actions on 16 April 2026 at all industrial units, factory gates, and industrial clusters, raising these justified demands at their respective establishments.

It has called upon workers across the NCR, Haryana (Manesar, Panipat, Sonipat), Rajasthan (Bhiwadi, Neemrana, Alwar), Gujarat (Surat, Hazira), Bihar (Barauni), and other industrial centres to unite in coordinated demonstrations, gate meetings, and other forms of solidarity action against the contract labour system in permanent jobs, starvation wages, inhuman working conditions, anti-worker Labour Codes, and notorious state repression.

The present upsurge, which began on 9 April in Noida Phase-II, has rapidly spread across industrial belts, involving around 40,000–50,000 workers in Noida alone and extending across 6–8 major clusters and over 15 industrial pockets in the NCR. This is part of a wider national wave of struggles – from Barauni and Panipat to Surat and Manesar - continuing the momentum of the historic 12 February General Strike. It is this growing unity that has already compelled the Uttar Pradesh government to announce a hurried wage revision, once again proving that only struggle yields results.

Yet, the so-called wage increase is a sham – far below survival levels. Workers in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are paid significantly less than in Delhi despite identical living costs. In the face of soaring inflation, the demand for a minimum wage of Rs 26,000 per month is not merely a demand but a necessity.

At the heart of the crisis is the ruthless exploitation of contract workers, who form the majority of the workforce. Paid Rs 10,000–12,000 a month, forced into 10–13 hour workdays, denied double overtime, weekly rest, ESI, PF, bonus, job security, and even basic safety, they are treated as disposable labour. Equal treatment with permanent workers is systematically denied. The much-hyped Labour Codes stand fully exposed as instruments to legalise this exploitation – extending working hours, weakening rights, and institutionalising contractualisation.

The crisis has been further sharpened by global war-driven price rises, with LPG prices for a 1 kg cylinder shooting up from Rs 70 to Rs 400–600 in the black market, alongside steep increases in food and essential commodities. Workers, especially migrants, are being pushed to the brink of survival.

Instead of addressing these realities, BJP governments have chosen repression and vilification. Over 300–400 workers have been arrested; police have raided workers’ homes and villages, and families have been terrorised. Trade union leaders, including CITU leaders from Noida, have been illegally confined. Women workers have faced brutal assault, and even legal aid has been targeted. Simultaneously, a malicious campaign branding the movement as “external” or “anti-national” is being pushed to delegitimise workers’ struggles.

This explosion is the outcome of years of wage stagnation, non-revision of minimum wages since 2014 in Uttar Pradesh, rising inflation, and systematic suppression of trade union activity in the NCR industrial belt. Workers are now breaking that imposed silence and asserting their rights.

The CITU stands firmly with the struggling workers. It has demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all arrested workers and activists, withdrawal of all false cases, an end to repression, and the lifting of all illegal detentions. It has further demanded immediate tripartite talks with trade unions, urgent convening of the Indian Labour Conference, and implementation of a minimum wage of Rs 26,000 with full statutory benefits, a strict 8-hour workday, double overtime payment, ensured workplace safety, equal treatment of contract workers, affordable LPG, and the abolition of the contract labour system through regularisation.

The message from the ground is clear: repression will not break the working class – it will only strengthen resistance. The unity and strength displayed in recent struggles have already forced concessions; the coming nationwide action will intensify this challenge.

Down with Contract Labour Exploitation!

Defeat Anti-Worker Policies!

Resist Repression – Defend Labour Rights!