Thousands of workers across India, from both the informal and formal sectors, joined a nationwide protest on 26 November 2025 to oppose the implementation of Labour Codes notified by the Central Government earlier on 21 November. The demonstrations were organised by a joint platform of ten central trade unions along with the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, with BWI’s affiliates also joining hands. 

The protestors decried the overhaul of India’s labour regulatory framework, replacing 29 existing laws with four consolidated codes. They called it “a deceptive fraud on the working class” that threatens job security, weakens collective bargaining, and erodes hard-won rights. Trade union representatives argued that the new structure hands disproportionate authority to employers and dilutes essential safeguards at a time when workers are already grappling with uncertainty in the job market. Strong concerns were voiced against the dilution of job protection as the government raised the retrenchment threshold from 100 to 300 workers, enabling employers to lay off staff without government permission, extending working hours, making union formation and recognition more difficult, and also weakening dispute settlement by replacing labour courts with tribunals and giving registrars wider powers to deregister unions.

In a memorandum addressed to the President of India, the joint trade union forum condemned the Labour Codes for negating fundamental labour rights and shrinking democratic space for workers, while demanding their immediate repeal.

Dr. R.C. Khuntia, Vice-President of INTUC, BWI World Board Member, and Asia-Pacific Vice Chair, reaffirmed the unions’ determination, “The conditions faced by workers and trade unions continue to deteriorate, and today’s protest stands as a powerful declaration of our collective action to secure a just and dignified future. The working class will not back down, and our struggle for rights and justice will continue. We extend gratitude to every union that stood up today for the rights of workers across India”.