India's general strike begins, paralyzing transportation.
The protest was called by the unions against the government's policiesPer restare aggiornato entra nel nostro canale Whatsapp
A 24-hour nationwide general strike, called by trade unions to protest the central government's anti-union policies, is rocking India .
Public transportation is almost completely paralyzed in several parts of the country. In the state of Odisha, thousands of members of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) blocked the national highway around the capital, Bhubaneswar.
In the state of Bihar, protesters occupied the tracks at the Jehanabad railway junction. Similar demonstrations took place in West Bengal, where all trains were blocked. In Kerala, the strike was almost completely implemented, with major businesses suspended and 90% of shops closed, while protest marches swept through the cities.
The strike was called by a forum of 10 national unions, which presented the government with a document containing 17 demands. These demands include the cancellation of fixed-term employment contracts, the cancellation of the Agnipath apprenticeship program, and a maximum eight-hour working day.
Unions claim that the government's economic policies have increased unemployment, driven up the prices of essential goods, lowered wages, and cut welfare spending. But they also highlighted growing inequality and increasing hardship for both the poorest segments of the population and the middle class.