Bengaluru IT workers join state-wide protest against Union Government’s 4 labour codes

Workers across Karnataka hit the streets on February 12 as part of a general strike called by the Joint Committee of Trade Unions (JCTU) against the Union government’s four Labour Codes.

The JCTU comprises trade unions not affiliated to the BJP.

What actually happened?

While the police intervened to disperse protests in Bengaluru, members of the Karnataka Workers Union (KWU), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] gathered at Town Hall.

They were then joined by workers’ collectives such as the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), as well as the Karnataka Information Technology Union (KITU) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) union.

According to Sooraj Nidiyangan, CPI(M)’s Karnataka state committee secretary, more than 100 employees from the IT sector participated in the protest in the tech capital of India.

Tech employees also went on strike in several industrial areas on the outskirts of Bengaluru, including Jigani, Bidadi, Hosakote, Narsapura, and Nelamangala. In many of these areas, workers conducted processions.

The strike also saw participation across other parts of the state, including Mysuru, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Raichur, Koppal, Ballari, Vijayanagara, Hassan, Sakleshpur, Hubballi-Dharwad, and Tumakuru districts. 

The main demand of protestors was the repeal of the four Labour Codes, and they opposed the new employment guarantee law that replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). 

At Town Hall, police intervened around noon and dispersed the gathering, loading protesters onto passing buses and removing them from the area.

Commuters faced problems as police asked them to alight from the buses, leaving them stranded.

Many protesters were later taken to the City Armed Reserve police grounds in Audugodi, where they continued their protest.

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