A nationwide strike called “Bharat Bandh” will occur on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, organized by a coalition of 10 major trade unions. Over 250 million workers from public sectors including banking, insurance, postal services, coal mining, transportation, and power generation are expected to participate, causing significant disruptions.
Key Impacts:
- Banking/Insurance: Services nationwide will be severely affected as employees join the strike. No official banking holiday has been declared.
- Transport: State-run bus services face disruptions; train services (Indian Railways) may experience delays but no official strike announced.
- Power Supply: Outages are possible as 2.7 million power sector workers participate.
- Schools/Colleges: Educational institutions will remain OPEN and operate normally.
- Private Offices: Expected to function as usual.
Reasons for the Strike:
Unions cite long-standing grievances against government policies, including:
- Alleged “anti-worker, anti-farmer, pro-corporate” economic reforms.
- Opposition to four new labor codes they claim erode worker rights and collective bargaining.
- Rising unemployment, inflation, and cuts to public services (healthcare, education).
- Failure to hold the annual labor conference for a decade.
- Government recruitment favoring retirees over youth despite high unemployment among 20-25 year-olds.
Demands:
Strikers demand halting the labor codes, restoring unionization/strike rights, creating youth jobs, filling government vacancies, increasing rural employment wages (MGNREGA), and strengthening public services.
Organizers & Participants:
The strike involves major unions (AITUC, INTUC, CITU, HMS, SEWA, etc.), farmers’ groups (Samyukta Kisan Morcha), and workers across formal and informal sectors.