Delhi witnessed a massive strike on 24-25 April 2008, when the industrial workers came together in protest against the price rise as well as implementation of their basic rights such as minimum wages and other labour laws. The two-day strike call was given by the state union of the Centre of India Trade Unions (CITU).

The major industrial areas in and around Delhi, including Mangolpuri, Mayapuri, Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, etc., witnessed a complete strike, with thousands of workers marching on the streets in huge processions and demonstrations. Police resorted to lathi-charge in the Noida Special Economic Zone and in Kheda Chowk areas in Noida. Around 2,000 workers held a dharna in front of the Shram Shakti Bhawan, the headquarters of the Union Labour Ministry. The dharna was addressed by Tapan Sen, MP and Secretary, CITU.

According to CITU, the industrial workplaces in the national capital region in Delhi and its surroundings are utterly lawlessness, and any collective action of the workers have been trampled through the joint actions of the management and government. The industrial workers are denied minimum wages, are not on the employment register, have long working hours, and cannot avail of Provident Fund and ESI, etc. In this ‘jungle raj’, even highly skilled workers are being paid less than the statutory wages meant for unskilled workers. Workers are forced to work for 12 hours without overtime payment. There are units that employ workers in large numbers, but not even 10 per cent of them are reflected in the employment registers. The hire-and-fire policy that exists allows the management to throw out workers, according to their whims and fancies. It is in this context that the industrial workers came forward unanimously to protest and raise their demands.

The strike also witnessed picketing by large numbers of workers. In Mongolpuri, between 15,000 and 20,000 workers gathered around the pickets on both days, whereas in Badali, there was a complete strike and a procession by more than 5,000 workers. In Okhla, around 1,000 workers, in a procession, were attacked and dispersed by the police. There was a complete strike at the four industrial sites of Ghaziabad and, in Noida, the police lathi-charged several thousand workers at Labour Chowk in Phase II. Several hundred rickshaw pullers and vendors took out a procession in Karol Bagh, and Sabzi Mandi was closed for a day.

The workers on strike demanded an immediate end to the price rice and the strengthening of the public distribution system. They put forward their demands such as the strict implementation of all labour laws, Rs 8500 as minimum wages, 8-hour working days, social security benefits, maintenance of employment registers, abolition of the contract system, etc. They wanted the formulation of minimum wages according to 15th ILC norm, unanimously agreed to by all parties.

The demands also included the immediate enactment of a comprehensive law for the unorganised sector workers and the protection of the right to livelihood of street vendors and rickshaw pullers—the worst affected victims of the eviction drive by Delhi administration at the instance of big business lobby. The workers demanded the end of police harassment on street vendors and rickshaw pullers.

Besides the CITU activists, local activists of youth and women’s organisations also joined the area-level campaigns in a big way.