A joint forum of central trade unions has called for a nationwide strike on Thursday to protest what it terms the Centre’s “anti-worker” policies, a move that is likely to partially disrupt services including banking, insurance, electricity, transport, health, education, gas and water supply.
According to a PTI report, trade unions have claimed that around 30 crore workers from various sectors are expected to participate in the agitation.
The strike call was announced on January 9 by a group of trade unions to register their “resistance to anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national pro-corporate policies of the central government”.
“All services in electricity, banking, insurance, transport, health, education, gas and water supply will be affected due to the nationwide strike call on February 12,” All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) General Secretary Amarjeet Kaur told PTI.
Kaur said that while all bank unions would not be participating, as their united forum had already observed a strike on January 27, bank unions such as the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA) and the Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) will join the protest.
She added that the mining and gas pipeline sectors are also expected to witness disruption. Insurance employees are set to protest against the government’s decision to allow up to 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the sector and against the implementation of the new labour codes.
A substantial number of workers from private and state transport utilities are also expected to participate, she said.
Expressing confidence in the scale of mobilisation, Kaur said “not less than 30 crore workers” are likely to join the strike, and nearly 600 districts could feel its impact. In a similar nationwide strike held on July 9 last year, around 25 crore workers had participated, affecting over 550 districts.
Kaur also said labour commissioners in various districts have convened meetings with union leaders to discuss their demands, but the February 12 agitation will go ahead as planned.
Chairman of the All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF), Shailendra Dubey, told PTI that about 2.7 million power employees and engineers across the country will observe a one-day strike on February 12.
According to Dubey, the power sector strike has been called to oppose privatisation, the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025, and the proposed National Electricity Policy 2026, and to press for the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme for power sector employees.
He said that for the first time, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha and ten central trade unions are joining the strike in solidarity with power employees.
With the participation of power sector employees, engineers, workers and farmers, the February 12 action could become one of the largest industrial actions in independent India, Dubey said. A key demand of the protest is to halt outsourcing, fill regular posts through direct recruitment, and regularise existing outsourced workers.
AIPEF has also raised concerns that privatisation of the power sector, including distribution, generation and transmission, would be detrimental to poor consumers, small and medium industries, and the general public. Dubey said the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the proposed National Electricity Policy 2026 must be withdrawn immediately.
Banking operations are expected to be partially affected as three out of nine unions, AIBEA, AIBOA and BEFI, will participate in the strike. The All-India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) and five other banking unions are not participating but have extended support.
Several public sector banks have already informed customers that branch and administrative office functioning across India may be impacted due to the strike.
AIBOC General Secretary Rupam Roy told PTI that the union has extended support. “Our members will not act as strike-breakers nor take on any non-supervisory duty on the day of the strike,” he said.
National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE) General Secretary L Chandrashekhar told PTI, “We are not part of the strike, but have extended fraternal support to central trade unions.”
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha has extended full support to the trade unions’ demands, while the joint front of agricultural workers’ unions is joining the strike seeking restoration of the rural job guarantee scheme MGNREGA and rollback of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025.
Among other demands are the scrapping of the four labour codes, withdrawal of the Draft Seed Bill and the Electricity Amendment Bill, and repeal of the ‘Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act’.
The joint forum comprises INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC.
Meanwhile, the Trade Union Co-ordination Centre (TUCC) has rejected the strike call, terming it “totally baseless, ill-conceived, and against the national interest”.
In a statement, TUCC said it would not take part in actions that it claimed were driven more by political considerations than genuine concern for workers’ welfare. It added that such “politically motivated calls for strike, based on narrow political agendas”, undermine established negotiation and dialogue-based mechanisms for safeguarding and advancing workers’ rights.
(With inputs from PTI)
