India’s trade unions stage protest in nationwide show of strength

India's once-powerful national trade unions joined together to stage a nationwide protest against high prices and economic reforms they argue have robbed workers of their rights.

The show of strength comes amid industry fears of a resurgence of trade union activity, following a hard-fought strike at India's leading car maker, Maruti Suzuki.  As GlobalPost reported earlier this week, there have been 10 major strikes at Indian firms over the past few years, and several bluechip firms have faced labor problems this year alone.

On Tuesday, union activists took to the streets in Chennai, Kolkata, New Delhi and many other Indian cities and towns to protest against the economic policies of Manmohan Singh's United Progressive Alliance government.  In some places, such as Tripura, more than 100,000 activists were arrested.

Protesting against rising prices and demanding an increase in the minimum wage to 10,000 rupees a month (about $200) was nothing new.  But the normally fractious unions' increasing willingness and ability to work together will no doubt send a shudder down many an industrialist's spine, says the Times of India.  

There has been sabre-rattling on both sides of the divide – the industrialists and the trade unions. But, for the first time, there's unity across the spectrum among central trade unions – from the BJP-backed BMS and Congress-backed Intuc to the Left-led Aituc and Citu. They have called for a jail bharo on November 8, demanding drastic policy changes to control price rise, stop privatization of public sector units, end the system of contract workers, among other things. Their leaders are raring to go, promising serious action in the coming months.

What's more, unlike in last year's successful nationwide general strike — the first such labor action in many years — this go-round the trade unions have included the curtailment of the use of contract labor in their list of collective demands.

Considering that using contract laborers is the main way India's so-called "organized sector" has sidestepped the country's tough labor laws, that could prove to be a major headache for India Inc.