Strikes in India (19th and 20th Centuries)

Contributed by Rupsa Haldar & Ritwika Biswas

The Industrial Dispute Act 1947 in India has defined strike as “a cessation of work by a body of persons employed in industry acting in combination, or a concerted refusal, or a refusal, under a common understanding of any number of persons who are or have been so employed to continue to work or to accept employment”. This Act considers strike as an important weapon of the trade unions, associations or workers in general for asserting their collective bargaining power against the authority, and hence recognizes it as a legitimate right of the working people. Article 19(1) of the Indian Constitution adopted in 1950 has guaranteed certain rights such as freedom of speech and expression, forming associations, assembly in a peaceful manner without arms as fundamental rights. Thus, although the Indian Constitution does not explicitly mention about the right to strike, its expression of freedom extends such a meaning. These rights, however, are not absolute and can be enjoyable with some restraints. Nevertheless, long before such legal rights, constitutional guarantees and political debates, strike had been used as a ready instrument for articulating the demands of the working masses in India vis-à-vis an authority lacking natural empathy for them. Strike was a popular weapon to secure natural justice since the age of manufacture, and became more intensive and organized with the consolidation of machine based production.

Strikes before the birth of any full-fledged wage-earning Industrial Labour Class

With the introduction of machinery in England, the working class was born. India, however, did not follow suit. She had her own idea of labourers that was not homologous to the western idea. In India the labourers since the inception of the idea of 'wage' could be divided into two parts. The ones who worked according to their will and mostly had flexible hours of work and the ones who had fixed hours of work with the fixed wages. Both the ones with the will and the ones without that were entitled to observe strikes for the sake of securing their rights. The pre-Trade Union strikes had no major leaders, yet it never lacked organization. The era after the formation of the Trade Unions had a different style of protest. The transition was never smooth, but it was a necessity. The pre-Trade Union era was marked with protests against the British government, the merchants of the English East India Company, the indigenous authority and so on. There was an absence of legal engagement of a full-fledged affiliated trade union. These people worked in the same type of market structure where at times there were brief spells of solidarity of interests. The demands were deeply prejudiced by and mostly pronounced in terms of caste, religion, region, language and so on. The class struggle modulated the discourse not as a consciousness but as a binary, a fissure being formed due to distinction in the accessibility to resources.

a. The strikes of the palanquin bearers, the ox-cart drivers, washermen, the barbers and the sailors

In the May of 1827, before any trade union sprang up, the palanquin bearers of Calcutta, gathered in the ‘Maidan’ region of Calcutta in protest to the unjust British laws. They were led by Panchu Sur and Gangahari. They were hired at a specific rate, which was curbed by the government laws. The Oriya migrant labourers who pervaded this occupation participated in it. The palanquin bearers were also joined by the other labourers. No major solution followed but it was quite a landmark. In 1962 September a 4-day strike sprang up in Calcutta in protest to the accusation of animal abuse by the ox-cart drivers. The strike was declared illegal soon without any major solution.

In 1856 another strike took place from the side of the washermen of Krishna Bagan of Calcutta. They wanted to increase their charges at par with market prices. This affected the city massively, but the outcome is unknown to us.

As long as the barbers were concerned, in 1876 in Calcutta they decided to levy a license fee which was unacceptable leading to a strike, the outcome of which is unknown to us; but seeing them their Bombay brothers did a similar strike leading to an acceptance of their demands, creating history.

The highly exacting taxation system of the government of the English East India Company preyed on the sailors as well. In an 1856 (2nd December) issue of Sambad Bhaskar it was mentioned that about a hundred boats suspended their work in Howrah, which caused an immense trouble to the public. They organized a strike that took Calcutta to a standstill.

b. The strike of the modaks (sweet makers)-gopes (milkmen)

The Gopes used to sell chenas (cottage cheese) along with the spare water which was unacceptable to the Modaks. The water was useless to the Modaks and they did not want to pay any extra for it, while the Gopes insisted that chenas and its water were inseparable as items for sale. This disagreement led to a temporary suspension of business interaction of the two groups. Although this stopwork was not directed against any authority, it exposed the inner tension and conflict of interests within the working class.

c. The strikes of the weavers and the salt makers

The growingly monopolistic control of the traders of the English East India Company over Bengal’s cottage industry, particularly after the gradual acquisition of the political power by the Company since the Battle of Plassey (1757), threw the cotton weaving, the most thriving handicraft of pre colonial Bengal, into extreme vulnerability. The weavers were forced to sell their commodities to the Company merchants at lower prices, incurring losses. The weavers of Shantipur, Nadia decided to continue their businesses underground, while ostensibly calling for a strike and total non-cooperation with the British. Although these strikes did not significantly change the fate of these people, the movement made a base for the future Trade Union activities. From the districts of Hooghly and Nadia, leaders like Duniram Pal, Nayan Nandi, Lochan Dalal, Ramram Das led the movement.

So long as the salt makers were concerned, on 3rd September 1789 (a small confusion lingers) a law was introduced that forced the salt-makers to give even more taxes. The burden of taxation increased the price 12 times more than that of the price of rice. The salt makers had to work more to meet the needs and even then, at times they felt overburdened and ran away only to be caught by the local authorities. The torture spiked and these labourers called for an uprising, fiercely enough to protect their own rights. In 1793, these labourers from the ‘Nimak Mahal’ of Midnapore closed their factories and fled in the protest. They decided to give a joint

petition to the Company authorities, and were led by someone called, Balai Kundu. In 1804, another agitation was led by them, in form of a strike. This time the lead was given by Premananda Sarkar. This strike ended the torture meted out to the salt-makers in totality.

d. The strike of the Namasudras

The Namasudra population of East Bengal (Khulna, Faridpur and the ones from the banks of Madhumati-Padma) carried on with their modest occupation of farming. They were exploited by the upper strata of the society, and it enraged them. In 1873 to protest against these atrocities, the Namasudras decided to launch a mass movement against the Kayasthas in the areas where they formed a majority. In Faridpur they called on a general strike and such a strike conducted on Jati-Varna discrimination was first of its kind. They put forward certain demands; they demanded not to serve any other Jati or human being; they would also accept food cooked only by the brahmins. It did not last long nor did it yield any results. However, it did set a unique example of caste-class protest. The Namasudra is a caste group which is located in the lower stratum of the caste hierarchy of Hinduism. Occupationally the people belonging to this caste mostly concentrated in agricultural work. When they went for the strike, their solidarity was primarily based on their caste identity. Their objective too was caste oriented. The uprooting of the harsh casteism and the demand for social equality were the highlights of their strike. Yet, the mingling of caste and occupational identities made their protest latently vibrant with a spirit of unity of working masses.

The strikes of the Industrial Labour Class come into being (without any involvement of the trade unions)

The Industrial labourers lacked unity even when the industries came into existence. Factory industry began to develop in India since the middle of the nineteenth century mainly in two sectors: cotton textile and jute products. These factories had also a spatial concentration. The jute mills were mostly located in Calcutta, whereas the cotton textile had their main location in Bombay and Ahmedabad. Binary can be drawn in another aspect too. Jute industry was mostly dominated by the foreign companies, while the cotton textile was largely an indigenous venture. Although in the late nineteenth century both these sectors began to attract labourers from the dispossessed peasants, India was still predominantly an agricultural economy where the land based labour was the matter of most serious concern. Moreover, Since India was a colony, political primacy of the educated elite was determined by the nationalist urge of achieving freedom rather than the desire for framing labour laws. Labour remained either unattended or looked as a tool for fulfilment of the nationalist cause. Colonial prerequisite made India’s development as a capitalist force an extremely splintered one and left the labour at a perilous fringe. India as a colony was drawn into the ambit of world capitalism by her colonial master but her newly emerging industrial work force was swayed between the capitalist habitat and the pre-capitalist mindset. The industrial work force was mostly recruited by deception from the rural society of a decaying feudal base with the clever manipulation of a group of middlemen. Those intermediaries with beguiled personalities were looked as the only place of trust for accommodation and other exigencies by the unskilled workers dislocated from rural field and desperately seeking sustenance in the alien factory barrack. The priority given to the technical education was not at all satisfactory, and the lack of education kept the class consciousness and class unity at a miserably low scale. Unlike the English working class, the Indian working class showed no signs of homogeneity. Religion, caste, region, language prejudiced their class identity, and even dispersed their demands related to common occupational interests. Yet, this era saw remarkable outbreak of strikes among the jute mill workers of southern part of Bengal and a significant part of the cotton mills in Bombay. Not all the strikes were noted and many of these strikes were also unrests.

In 1895 in the Kamarhatty jute mill, the Muslim coolies at the Kamarhutty Jute Mill were prohibited from having a leave on the festival of Id because of which the manager and the gatekeepers were thrown brick bats at.

In 1895 in the Titagurh jute mill the Hindu workers protested on not being allowed to leave on the day of Annapurna Puja. The manager was beaten up brutally and the police who came to save him got the same treatment.

In 1895 Budge budge Mill the labourers fell out with their Sardar and proposed to strike if his services were not dispensed with and due to that about 7000 labourers surrounded the bungalow, the residence of the Europeans. The mill authorities refused to accept the demand as a result of which they broke down the panels of the bungalow by pelting stones while the Europeans fired on the mob.

The Bauria mill, the Wellington Jute Mill and several jute mill strikes during the same period had similar agenda and met with the same fate.

The Trade Unions emerge

N.M. Lokhande in 1890 founded the Bombay Mill-Hands Association, the first association of the Indian workers. Before this, in Bengal, Mary Carpenter worked actively for the sake of the Indian workers and Sashipada Banerjee formed the Working Men’s Club to address the issues of the workers. In 1874 he started a journal named ‘Bharat Shramajibi’ that was dedicated to the cause of the Indian labourers. The very first trade union to come into existence was the Madras Labour Union of 1918, with the efforts of B.P. Wadia. The first trade union federation established was the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) in 1920. The strikes gained a momentum after several trade unions got affiliated to the AITUC. From 1940 onwards not only the labourers but most of the white-collared workers participated in the strikes too.[i]

Strikes 1919-1999

Industrial working life in India entered a new phase in the post First World War period. The post war weakness of British imperialism and the consequent escalation in the autonomy of the indigenous bourgeoisie created new conditions of capitalism in British Indian colony. However, the general economic predicaments of the post war days stiffened the lives of the working masses. Nevertheless, the increase in the numerical strength of the industrial labourers as well as the growth of their organizational power with the formation of trade unions made the industrial working class a more competing category than before.  All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was founded in 1920. Although it was the outcome of a joint initiative of different nationalist political parties, who were eager in using it as a nationalist instrument for consuming labour voice, the growing penetration of the leftist forces and the emergence of several labour organizations consolidated the labour as a political force vis-à-vis the colonial state and its comprador bourgeoisie. Along with the hegemonizing challenge set by nationalism, Indian labour was additionally subservient to caste and communal identities diluting their class based solidarity. Yet, a stream of class consciousness was flowing. Strike as a mode of labour militancy and labour protest was often manifest. There is a huge list of strike waves which happened in places like Kanpur, Jamalpur, Bombay and so on.

Jamshedpur TISCO Strike (1920-1928)

The first strike of Indian workers in TISCO was a lightning strike of foundry workers, which commenced on 24 February 1920 and continued till 18 March. The strikers approached Byomkesh Chakravarty and Surendranath Haldar of Calcutta, who helped them to found the Jamshedpur Labour Association (JLA). The strike was followed by a denial of the management to give in to the workers’ demands that included a 50 per cent wage increase, improvement of the grain stores and guarantee against abuse of Indian labour by European superiors. There was a resurgence in the strike in 1922, September. The strike failed to shake the rigidity of the authority and ultimately lost its momentum. JLA was keen to solve the dispute, trying to secure its recognition for the mediating role from both sides.[ii]

Labour unrest in TISCO reached its peak in 1928, with the five-month-long strike-cum-lockout from May to September. Prior to the strike, in 1927, there were some instances of unrest on the shop floor. Realising the failure of JLA to articulate their grievances, a section of workers approached Maneck Homi, a former employee of TISCO, to lead them. The subsequent strike of 1928 showed the capacity of the workers to mobilise and coordinate different layers of the class spectrum, from sweepers to white collared workers. The strikes did not have much immediate gains, but it did pave the way for the formation of a major leadership amongst the workers resulting in the consolidation of them as well.[iii]

East India Railway Strike April 1922

The East Indian Railway strike of 1922 affected more than 1500 kilometres of rail and involved a large number of workers. The strike was an exemplary moment in Indian worker politics. Although it was in quick succession to the first major nationalist mass movement of the country (Non-Cooperation Movement 1920-22) under the leadership of Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, it methodically went beyond the Gandhian order. The workers moved against the authority of the colonial state by questioning the legitimacy of the governance, which hindered their occupational interests. The labour action occurred spontaneously without the knowledge of the union leaders who were mostly drawn from the bourgeois society and did not approve the labour autonomy, by sabotaging the strike. Consequently, the workers now had to fight not only against the government but also against their own union leaders, most of whom were either adventurous politicians, or reformist pacifists without proper regard for the germinating revolutionary consciousness of the working masses. Despite such constraints the workers carried on their struggle for three months. This showcased the capacity of the Indian workers in carrying forward their own movements without any external help portraying a proletarian unity.[iv]

Bombay Textile Mill Strike of 1924-25, 1928 and March 1940

The textile workers of Bombay were given a notice of a lockout if they were not willing to accept a wage-cut from September 1, 1924. More than 150,000 workers, including 35,000 women and 15,000 children, were to be thrown out of work. The British Government was on the side of the mill owners. After a heroic struggle, which lasted for nearly three months, the workers were defeated. Bonuses were also discontinued. Hardly a year later, the employers declared that wages should be further reduced. This sparked a protest but was ruthlessly suppressed.[v]

The 1928 Bombay textile strike marked a renewed wave of industrial militancy following earlier confrontations in the city’s mills. Sparked by wage cuts and deteriorating living conditions a strike drew up. The colonial state perceived the strike as a threat to public order and responded with repression, arrests, and surveillance of labour leaders. The strike was ultimately contained. Girni Kamgar Union that was founded in 1928 by S.A. Dange of the Communist Party of India, played a very important role in it.[vi]

The Bombay textile strike of March 1940 marked the beginning of the labour militancy in an important industrial region of India in the interwar period. The wartime conditions resulted in rising prices, stagnant wages and a strict labour discipline. The strike's suppression was followed by stricter labour control but also left a legacy of politicised workers, who would re-emerge forcefully in the post Second World War period.[vii]

South Indian Railway Strike of 1928

The strike broke out on the grounds of shifting the railway workshop to Golden Rock, transferring the workers too. Demand for wage issues was another one but not the main one. Armed troops were raised to put down the strike quite violently. Mr. Narayanswami was the secretary of the strike committee and was detained. Their demands were nevertheless ignored. Yet, the movement was effective in the consolidation of the workers.[viii]

Calcutta Corporation Scavengers' Strike 1928

The Scavengers’ Strike of the Calcutta Corporation, of 1928 in Calcutta was a very important episode in the colonial labour history. The strike largely involved municipal sanitation workers, who came from downtrodden communities facing social stigmas and the problems of the lower wages. Low wages, arbitrary fines and dismissals, excessive workloads, and degrading treatment by supervisors, drove thousands of scavengers to a strike. They stopped working, bringing the city’s sanitation system to a standstill. This exposed the dependence of colonial urban governance on their labour. The Calcutta Municipal Corporation initially responded with repression and threats of replacement labour, but the scale and discipline of the strike forced negotiations and limited concessions. Although the immediate gains were modest, the strike was historically significant because it demonstrated the capacity of socially marginalized service workers.[ix]

Jute Mill Strikes of Chengail & Bauria 1928

The jute mill strikes at Chengail and Bauria in 1928 reflected growing labour unrest in Bengal’s jute industry, a sector crucial to colonial export earnings. Workers protested wage disparities, retrenchments, and exploitative labour practices influenced by market fluctuations. These strikes occurred due to the fragmentation of union leadership and internal division among the workforce, making it difficult to continue the strike for a long time. Nevertheless, the mobilisations demonstrated an expanding class consciousness among jute workers and a willingness to challenge managerial authority. The colonial state responded with repression and selective negotiations, prioritising uninterrupted production. There were no major gains.[x]

Golmuri Tin-Plate Strike (1929)

The Golmuri Tin-Plate strike of 1929 highlighted labour unrest in a capital-intensive industrial enclave linked to global markets. Workers protested against wage stagnation, harsh discipline, and unsafe working conditions amid the economic uncertainties of the late 1920s. The strike proved that labour militancy was spreading to other industrial zones beyond the textile centres.  By April 5, 3,000 tinplate workers at Golmuri had struck work. By the 17th the situation took a serious turn. Companies paid touts to prevent the “loyalists” from joining the strike, on June 4, the fifty-eighth day of the strike, those working joined the strikers in a body, and a complete deadlock prevailed.[xi]

Great Indian Peninsular Railway Strike 1930

A powerful Union of workers demanded an increase of wages, stopping dismissal of the workers and other measures of victimisation, and stopping the arbitrary transfer of union workers without any notice. The union also demanded the reduction of long working hours and the evaluation of the racial discrimination occurring in the premises and settlement of some such other problems. The strike spread out and a major repression followed. As again, this stood as a symbol of resistance and consolidation of the proletariat.[xii]

Beawar Cotton Mill strike at Ajmer Merwara 1936

About 4000 workers stopped work against wage reduction causing a loss of 375000 working days. The speciality of this strike was in that it took place in a native state designed to avoid enforcement of provisions of factory act and then to excite the workers with maximum exchange. The capitalists during this period started industrial investments in the native states but the backward workers of these native states decided to put on a strike to improve their living and working conditions.[xiii]

Great General Strike of Bengal Jute Mills 1937

The 1937 general strike in Bengal’s jute mills represented one of the most extensive industrial actions in colonial India. Triggered by wage disputes and worsening labour conditions, the strike involved coordinated action across multiple mills, reflecting unprecedented workers solidarity. The political climate shaped by the Government of India Act of 1935 and the rise of provincial autonomy influenced both labour expectations and state responses. State intervention ultimately curtailed the movement, but the strike marked a high point of organised labour militancy in Bengal and with a lasting impact.[xiv]

Kanpur Cotton Mills Stoppage (1938)

The Kanpur cotton mills stoppage of 1938 occurred within a rapidly industrialising North Indian city marked by recurrent labour unrest. This was the time of militant working class struggle and was known as a period of ‘red Kanpur’. It was led by Kanpur Mazdoor Sangh. It was primarily a protest against low wages which had been lowered during depression-era cuts, and had not been lifted for years. Women participated actively in the strike. Eventually most of the workers’ demands were accepted and the Kanpur Mazdoor Sangha was recognized by the mill owners.[xv]

Digboi Oil Works Strike 1939

In 1939, a well-organised labour strike challenged the management of the Assam Oil Company in eastern Assam. Following the provincial elections of 1937, workers expected the Congress government to support their long-standing demands for better wages, freedom to choose their leaders, participation in management, and protection from arbitrary dismissals. However, the outbreak of the Second World War and the failure of the provincial government to back labour interests led to the strike’s collapse. Despite this, the movement had a lasting impact, inspiring labour activism among workers in the surrounding tea gardens of Assam.[xvi]

Calcutta dock/port workers strike 1942

In September 1942, an unofficial strike by 5,000 to 7,000 Calcutta dock workers broke out, marking a significant but delayed response to the Quit India Movement. The action, involving boatmen and port labourers, caused severe disruption to wartime shipping. Workers secured a 25% pay rise, targeting improved conditions amidst high inflation.  The strike occurred within a wider context of wartime industrial action and the 1942 bombings of Calcutta, which created a tense atmosphere, leading to the creation of the Department of Labour in 1942.[xvii]

Jamshedpur Steel Plant Strike 1958

The Jamshedpur steel plant strike of 1958 reflected growing labour unrest within India’s expanding public and private sector heavy industries. The State intervention aimed at rapid dispute resolution through legal and administrative mechanisms, limiting the scope of collective bargaining. Although the strike was contained, it revealed the persistence of industrial conflict in the post-colonial period and the challenges of reconciling workers’ demands with developmental priorities.[xviii]

Coal Mines Strike (Bihar & West Bengal), 1962

The coal miners’ strike of 1962 in Bihar and West Bengal represented a major episode of labour militancy in a sector vital to India’s industrial and energy infrastructure. Workers protested against low wages, hazardous working conditions, and exploitative contractor systems that persisted despite post-independence labour legislation. The strike unfolded amid the Sino-Indian War, allowing the state to invoke national security concerns to delegitimise labour action and impose restrictions on union activity. Although the strike did not achieve significant immediate concessions, it intensified debates around mine safety, labour regulation, and eventual nationalisation of coal mines in the early 1970s.[xix]

Bombay Dock Workers’ Strike 1966

The Bombay dock workers demanded wage revisions, job security, and improved working conditions in a sector central to foreign trade. On July 5, 1966, about 5,000 port and dock workers in Bombay held demonstrations in front of the Port Trust and Regional Labour Commissioner's office. This was part of a broader, nationwide effort to launch an indefinite strike in major ports effective from July 24, 1966. The strike revealed the tensions between organised labour and the state’s commitment to economic stability during a period of fiscal stress and devaluation. While the strike failed to secure substantial material gains, it consolidated dock workers’ collective identity and strengthened union structures.[xx]

Kolar Gold Field Strike 1967

Significant labour unrest occurred in the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) during the mid-1960s following the nationalization of the mines in 1956. Strikes in this era were largely driven by worker demands regarding wages, allowances for hazardous blasting work, and the implementation of previous agreements. State responses emphasised on order and output over the social protection of the workers, exposing limitations of post-colonial labour welfare. Although the strike did not reverse the long-term decline of Kolar Gold Field, it intensified demands for social security and rehabilitation of mine workers.[xxi]

Bombay Textile Strike 1982-3

On January 18, 1982, Samant Datta led a massive strike involving over 250,000 workers from more than 50 mills across Mumbai. The strike was driven by widespread frustration over low wages, poor working conditions, and ineffective representation from the official union. As the strike progressed, it became clear that the workers' demands were not being met, leading to a protracted and bitter conflict. The strike brought Mumbai’s textile industry to a halt, causing severe economic disruptions. As months turned into a year, the consequences became increasingly devastating. Many mills were forced to shut down, leaving thousands unemployed and marking a significant decline in Mumbai’s once-thriving textile sector.[xxii]

White Collared Employees in Strike

Calcutta Municipal Corporation Strike 1940

In March 1940, around 18,000 to 20,000 workers of the Calcutta Corporation went on a strike that lasted for about seven days. The main demands of the workers included a wage increase, suitable housing, 15 days of annual leave, medical benefits, and free primary education for their children. A primary driving force for the agitation during this period was also the demand for a "dearness allowance" or war bonus due to rising costs. Corporation strike gave a common platform which included both the white collared employees and the manual workers, accepting the leadership of Begum Sakina Faruk and Sultana Moazeda, who belonged to the ranks of the scavengers.[xxiii]

Post and Telegraph Workers' Strike 1946

The 1946 Post and Telegraph workers' strike, beginning on July 11, was a massive, 23-day nationwide action against the British Raj for better wages and working conditions. Led by lower-grade staff and unions, it paralyzed communication across India, with strong, widespread participation in Bengal, Bombay, and Madras, effectively forcing the government to concede to 12 major demands. Bhupendranath Ghosh and K.G. Bose were instrumental in leading the strike in Bengal and Assam.[xxiv]

All India Postal Strike 1968

It was on 19th September 1968, that the entire Central Government employees went on a solidified one day strike. The most important demands were regarding wage and full neutralisation of price rise, through payment of Dearness Allowance. The strike was a total success and undoubtedly a successful chapter in the Indian Trade Union movement. The then Central Government, headed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, ordered for massive arrests, removal from service and suspensions, ESMA (Essential Services Maintenance Act) was invoked and para military forces were brought in to crush the strike. The Central Government employees lost their lives in police firing in Mariani, Bongaigaon, Pathankot and Bikaner.[xxv]

All India Bank Employees' Strike 1969, 1993 and 1997

The 17-day All India State Bank of India Officers' strike in June 1969 was a landmark, worldwide first-of-its-kind, indefinite action by supervisory staff. It fuelled the officers' movement, directly influencing the eventual formation of the All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC) in 1985, while also taking place amidst the historic nationalization of 14 major banks.[xxvi]

In 1993 the strike was mainly aimed at pension and stopping indiscriminate computerization. In 1997 it was organised by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which was formed around that time (February 14, 1997) to bring together various bank employee unions. The 1997 actions highlighted the ongoing conflict between the government's banking sector reforms and the employee unions' efforts to protect the public sector nature of Indian banking.[xxvii]

All India Railway Strike 1974

The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act was passed in 1970. It advocated the regularisation of contract work and the entitlement of equal pay for equal work for contract workers. The National Coordination Committee of Railwaymen’s Struggle gave a call for a strike May 8, 1974 onwards. The strike began a week before the notified date and went on for 20 days. It barred the Indian National Trade Union Congress and the other trade unions from joining in. George Fernandes, the NCCRS general secretary, and the other top union leaders were arrested. The paramilitary forces were called in, and all the necessary supplies i.e. water and electricity were disconnected from the railway quarters. The government ordered for a repression but the strike received the sympathy and the support of the other government workers. This solidarity became an important feature of this struggle. The intensity of this labour militancy was a rude shock to the Congress government whose subsequent decision to declare internal emergency (June 25, 1975 – March 21, 1977) for combatting the destabilized situation in the country found a cause in it. The Janata Party government that followed, agreed to the demand for bonus that was raised in the strike.[xxviii]

Air India and Indian Airlines Strike 1980, Air India Pilots' Strike 1989

In 1980, Air India experienced significant operational disruptions due to staff unrest, specifically an exodus of senior engineering staff and dissatisfaction among cabin crews over pay, compounded by high oil prices. A flash strike took place regarding a flight being diverted to Mangalore. Another incident in 1980 involved a 10-day pilot strike, with the ICPA (Indian Commercial Pilots Association) protesting pay disparities.[xxix]

From 1989-92 another series of Strikes took place. The pilots began the agitation demanding higher allowances for flying in international sectors. This demand was turned down. They then refused to fly with people re-employed on a contractual basis. Thereafter they went on a strike, saying that the cabin crew earned higher wages than them and that they would not fly until this issue was addressed.[xxx]

Telecom Workers' Strike 1990

The 1990 telecom workers' strike in India was a significant industrial action that took place around November of that year, primarily driven by demands for improved pay, allowances and better working conditions. The 20-day strike involved employees from the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) and was eventually called off on November 22, 1990, following an agreement with the government.[xxxi]

Socio-Industrial Agitation

Bhopal and Industrial Safety Movement 1984

The Bhopal industrial safety movement emerged in the aftermath of the catastrophic gas leak at the Union Carbide plant in December 1984, marking a turning point in India’s labour and environmental politics. The movement as a whole, exposed the weaknesses in the structure of the industry, their regulations, capacity for disaster management and labour protection.  Organizations such as the Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila Udyog Sangathan (BGPMUS), led by Abdul Jabbar, and the Bhopal Gas Peedith Sangharsh Sahayog Samiti (BGPSSS), led by N.D. Jayaprakash, emerged to fight for justice, medical care, and proper compensation. Activists campaigned for the clean-up of the toxic site, fair compensation, and the prosecution of UCC CEO Warren Anderson.[xxxii]

Strike was a traditional weapon of protest of the labouring class ever since its emergence in India. However, the growth of the industrial working class, its consolidation under organized trade union leadership, its nascent ideological literacy of socialism shaped the strikes as an instrument of class struggle during the twentieth century, particularly after the First World War. The strikes were resorted by all sections of the working masses including those engaged into white collar professions. Their viability was marked both during the age of nationalist struggle and after decolonization. The radical potentiality of such a mode of protest was often subdued and even misdirected by the diffusion of class solidarity, ideological countering of reformist forces and organizational weakness. The political parties under whose auspices most of the trade unions worked often appropriated the strikes for their respective political mobilization compromising the occupational interests of the workers. Yet, strikes with their fighting spirit added a lot of vibrance to the development of labour movement and trade unionism in the country. 

Selected Timeline of India's Labour Movement

Contributed by Dhiraj Kumar Nite (Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University Delhi)