THE first joint trade union action, against the attempts of different state governments to nullify labour laws and push workers into slave like conditions, was held across the country on May 22, 2020. The leaders of the central trade unions who were available in Delhi decided to observe fast at Raj Ghat in New Delhi. But soon after they sat on fast they were taken into custody by the police and taken to the police station, from where they were released only in the evening.

AS Covid-19 cases increase in the country, there has been an alarming rise in the number of frontline workers getting infected with the deadly virus, mainly due to the lack of safety gears. At least four senior doctors have reportedly died so far due to the novel coronavirus. Nurses and other hospital employees, including sanitation workers at the bottom of the hierarchy, who are more prone to infection are getting infected in large scale. Many hospitals had to be closed.

CENTRAL trade unions have opposed any move by the government to amend the Factories Act to enhance the weekly working hours to 72 in the guise of "exceptional circumstances” posed by the coronavirus outbreak. The trade unions – INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF, and UTUC – referred to media reports on the proposed amendments and demanded that the government clarify its stand.

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), on March 30, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to make special arrangements for food, shelter and health check-ups for the lakhs of migrant workers during the corona lockdown period. It warned that failing to take appropriate measures would lead to mass starvation and a huge loss of life.

JAGAH hai kitni jail me teri, Dekh liya aur dekhenge! (How much space is there in your jails, we have seen, we will see)”, a popular protest slogan, was literally turned into action by women workers under the banner of the All India Coordination Committee of Working Women (CITU) on March 6. In spite of heavy rains in north India, according to preliminary reports, nearly 1.5 lakh working women from 20 states, from around 300 districts, in 385 places courted arrest on the long pending demands of women of the working class.