On the call of 11 Central Trade Unions, massive protest demonstrations, rallies and dharnas were held by workers across the country on the All India Protest Day on 5 December 2014, against anti-worker amendments in labour laws, further enhancing of disinvestment of PSUs including financial sectors, hiking/allowing FDI in strategic sectors such as Defence, Insurance and Railways and other anti-worker, pro-corporate measures of the Central government. The call was given by central trade unions including AICCTU, BMS, INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, UTUC, LPF and various independent Employees Federations and Associations of Banks, Insurance, Defence, Telecommunications and other sectors. Held at the end of 6 months of the Modi government, this was the first united action of the Indian working class at the national level, in which several thousands of workers participated. Apart from capital city, Delhi, protest programmes were held in various state capitals and other cities including Patna, Raipur, Bhuvaneshwar, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Puducherry, Mumbai, Jaipur, Kanpur and Haldwani. Programmes were also held at district headquarters in various states. AICCTU was actively involved in all initiatives to ensure success of this joint protest.
During the joint protest held in Delhi, near the Parliament, trade union leaders lambasted the move of central and some state governments to amend labour laws like the Factories Act, CLARA, Apprentices Act and the ID Act and to bring in new pro-employer legislations such as the Small Factories (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) bill. Trade union leaders pointed out that all these amendments are aimed at empowering the employers to retrench and close industrial establishments, to have a free hand to hire and fire workers, to ensure mass scale contractualisation and to remove more than 70 per cent of industrial and service establishments out of purview of almost all labour laws. They also raised serious concerns over the move of the President of India to give assent to the recent anti-labour Rajasthan amendments made on the recommendations of the Cabinet. The leaders expressed dismay over the government’s total inaction to the various demands of trade unions, including ensuring minimum wages for all of not less than Rs 15000 per month, granting worker status to over 10 millions employed in various schemes of the government, employment generation, compulsory registration of Trade Unions and ratification of ILO Conventions 87 and 98. AICCTU national secretary Comrade Rajiv Dimri addressed the rally in New Delhi on behalf of AICCTU.
On 5 December a joint trade union protest was also organised in front of the Raj Nivas at Puducherry. The Central Trade Unions including AICCTU, AITUC, CITU, INTUC, BMS, ATP, MLF and the BSNL Unions took part in this protest. The protest was led by MLF leader Comrade Gabriel. The state level leaders of various unions, along with workers and cadres, protested against the anti labour policies of the Central and State Governments. Addressing the protest, National Secretary of AICCTU Comrade S. Balasubramanian attacked the Modi Government’s so-called labour ‘reforms’ and demanded immediate withdrawal of all amendments recently made in various Acts and withdrawal of new Labour Bills.
In Lucknow, various trade unions called for a march which began from the Charbagh railway station and went through Hussain Ganj to the premises of the state legislative assembly. AICCTU’s Comrade Ramesh Singh Sengar as well Surendra Prasad addressed the protest. After the protest, a detailed charter of demands was handed over to the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary.
