Nationwide strike draws 30 crore participants, say trade unions

More than 30 crore workers, farmers, agricultural workers, and other groups of employees participated in the general strike on Thursday (February 12, 2026) to protest against the four Labour Codes and the free trade deals being struck with the United States, European Union, and the United Kingdom, the central trade unions said.

The joint strike call was given by the CTUs and the farm unions of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM). Their charter included demands to withdraw the Draft Seeds Bill, Electricity (Amendment) Bill, Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act and the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill.

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Strike actions and massive mobilisations were reported from more than 600 districts across the country, the CTUs said in a statement. “In mining/manufacturing/service sectors, among the formal and informal labour, huge impact of the strike and mobilisation was witnessed,” they added.

“The workers/employees in most of the Industrial areas in the country, including in many MNCs, joined the strike in a big way and organised processions. The defence sector employees held protest demonstrations with one hour cut of work in support of strike. The railway unions mobilised and participated in solidarity actions,” the CTUs said, adding that the government’s attempts to cripple democratic movements through various means has further angered the working class and the farming community.

Worker-peasant unity

The SKM congratulated farmers and workers for the successful strike. “It is one of the largest ever general strikes in the history of independent India and specifically noted for cementing the worker-peasant unity as the backbone of the mass resistance against the corporate policies being vehemently pursued by the BJP-led NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” the SKM statement said.

“Anger among the working people against the FTAs, VB GRAMG Act, the Electricity Bill, the Seed Bill, the Insurance Act, SHANTI Act and anti-people Union Budget 2026-27 and the discontent against the denial of minimum support price as per MS Swaminathan Commission formula for all crops with guaranteed procurement, unwillingness to declare comprehensive loan waiver to liberate farmer households from indebtedness and end continuance of the tragic peasant suicides has reflected on the street protests as part of the general strike,” the farmers’ body said. The SKM’s national council is set to meet on February 24 at Kurukshetra, Haryana to discuss the next phase of action.

Trade Union Coordination Centre (TUCC) leader G. Devarajan said the unprecedented response from millions of working people has once again demonstrated the unity, strength, and democratic resolve of India’s toiling masses. “The strike was a powerful expression of protest against a series of anti-worker, anti-farmer and pro-corporate policies being pursued by the Union Government,” he added.