Prime Highlights
- More than 25 crore workers likely to participate in Bharat Bandh on July 9.
- Public transport, bank, and government business likely to suffer.
Key Facts
- 10 big trade unions and farm bodies backing the strike.
- Most of the markets, healthcare services, and schools to operate normally.
Key Background
A nation-wide Bharat Bandh has been planned for July 9, 2025, and more than 25 crore workers will participate. It has been called by 10 central trade unions along with other farmer bodies in response to several policies introduced by the central government, the most contentious of which are the labour codes. Protesting against these reforms weakening labour protection and promoting privatization, both public sector employees and small farmers have been impacted.
The strike is followed by a 17-point charter of demands presented by trade unions in 2024. They include resistance against the four new labor codes, which have been reported to dilute employment security and workers’ rights. The unions are also seeking more stringent social security measures, inflation control, and termination of the privatization of central public sector enterprises. They also attribute the excessive delay in organizing the Indian Labour Conference this year, which has not been organized since more than a decade ago, to the breakdown in communication between the labour unions and the government.
Public sector operations like banking, transport, coal mining, post and power distribution will witness serious disruptions. Workers of state-owned enterprises and other public utilities will also participate in the bandh. But the majority of schools, hospitals, bazaars, and private firms will not be affected as usual unless they are getting directly affected from local-level protests or transport blockades.
The scope of the impact of the bandh will also be geographically diverse, depending on the extent of union participation. The public has been asked to make themselves ready for disruption of public transport and bank facilities, and informed through local administrative announcements.