LAKHS of workers across India voiced their demands by participating in the first decisive class action under the Modi-led NDA 3 government. This event, National Demands Day, was observed on July 10, 2024, at the call of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), protesting against ongoing policy onslaughts. The CITU secretariat meeting held on June 17-18, 2024, at BTR Bhawan in Delhi, discussed the new political landscape after the 18th Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP lost its absolute majority held since 2014 and 2019, and now compelled to lead the NDA government with support from allies like TDP and JD(U).

The CITU secretariat observed that their continuous campaigns and struggles over the last ten years of BJP rule have somewhat succeeded in keeping livelihood issues such as unemployment, price rise, working conditions, and pensions in the election discourse. Despite efforts by the BJP and the prime minister to divert attention and polarise voters through hate speeches and lies, they did not fully succeed.

The secretariat noted that despite this setback, there is no expectation of a policy shift from the NDA government away from the neoliberal framework. This is evident in the government's announcement on notifying the labour codes, drastically reducing penalties for employers defaulting on EPF dues, and proceeding with the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP).

The aggressive 100-day plans of several ministries indicate that, under the guise of policy continuity, the NDA government will impose severe burdens on the people of India, particularly the working class. These 'bolder reforms' are already emerging in media reports. For instance, the coal ministry, viewing this as the third wave of reform, plans to gradually transfer Coal India's mining operations to private operators through the MDO model, targeting non-power sectors, especially the steel industry. This includes a new forward bidding auction where domestic coal will be auctioned for captive use. Additionally, there will be further privatisation through the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) in sectors such as highways, ports, electricity, and defense production.

Given the new situation, the CITU secretariat unanimously decided that immediate action is necessary to prepare the people and build strong resistance against these policies. As part of a phased campaign starting at the grassroots level, it has been decided to organise tehsil and district-level dharnas and agitations across all states on July 10, 2024, focusing on six key demands of the workers. These demands include repealing the four labour codes, scrapping the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) and halting other forms of privatisation, setting the minimum wage at no less than Rs 26,000 per month for all workers, ensuring job security for contract workers by retaining them even when contractors change, and guaranteeing equal wages and benefits for contract workers performing the same jobs as permanent workers. Additionally, the demands call for abolishing the National Pension System (NPS) and restoring the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). The CITU also demands the recognition of scheme workers such as Anganwadi workers and helpers, ASHAs, and MDM workers as workers, ensuring they receive minimum wages and social security benefits, including pensions.

Despite the short campaign period, sincere efforts were made to reach a large number of workers. CITU cadres worked diligently to popularise these demands by reaching out to factories, work sites, and workers' neighbourhoods. They distributed leaflets and pamphlets, and displayed banners and hoardings. In several states, efforts were made to conduct workers' general body meetings and street corner gatherings.

The massive campaign effort resulted in huge participation of workers on Demands Day. There was significant turnout in state capitals including Trivandrum, Agartala, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Patna, and Ranchi. In Bengal, action programmes were held in multiple centres across all districts, with mobilisations at the block level in East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Purulia, and West Burdawan. CITU state general secretary Anadi Sahu and veteran CITU leader Dipak Dasgupta addressed a public meeting in Howrah. Public meetings, processions, sit-in demonstrations, and deputation submissions were held at industrial areas such as jute mills, coal, and tea plantations. Workers were mobilised in large numbers in the industrial clusters of Haldia, Durgapur, Barrackpore, Howrah, and Hooghly. Despite an atmosphere of terror, Demands Day was observed in Tripura with programs in 18 sub-divisional towns across eight districts. A colorful rally in Agartala culminated at Chowhmani Point, where CITU state general secretary Shankar Dutta and leader Panchali Bhattacharya addressed the crowd.

In Maharashtra, more than 16,000 workers from 18 districts observed Demands Day with rallies and demonstrations in Aurangabad, Solapur, Amaravati, Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Beed, and Jalna. Construction, Beedi, and scheme workers notably participated. In Jharkhand, Demands Day was observed in 12 districts, with coal, steel, heavy engineering, transport, and gig workers participating in Ranchi, Dhanbad, Bokaro, East Singhbhum, Hazaribag, Jamtara, and other districts. In Chhattisgarh, thousands of workers from nine districts took part, with large mobilisations of anganwadi workers, steel workers, and Balco workers. In Andaman, a mass demonstration was organised in front of the Port Blair Municipal Council Office in the evening, with hundreds of workers from different unions participating. R Surendran Pillai, president of the CITU state committee, inaugurated the demonstration, and addresses were given by B Chandrachoodan, general secretary,       D Ayyappan, vice president, Anand Rajan, secretary, CITU state committee, and SP Kalairajan, general secretary, ASNVMS.

To observe National Demands Day, workers from Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Buddha Nagar participated in large numbers in numerous protest actions. Workers raised their voices in favour of their demands throughout the NCR region with demonstrations and street meetings at factory gates, industrial areas, workplaces, and working-class neighbourhoods. Memorandums related to these demands were also submitted to labour departments and DM offices in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

In Jammu and Kashmir, all CITU-affiliated unions observed Demands Day at their respective workplaces and in the capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar. Over a thousand workers participated in the protest demonstrations, with mobilisations in Samba, Raisi, Kathua, Kulgam, Ganderbal, and other districts. In Karnataka, thousands of workers observed Demands Day in Bangalore, Hubballi, Mandya, Udupi, Tumakuru, and other districts.

National Demands Day was observed in Uttarakhand with workers conducting rallies and demonstrations. In the capital city and district headquarters, large demonstrations took place and memorandums were submitted to district officials. There were also significant mobilisations observed in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Assam, Gujarat, and several other states.