AITUC members are taking out a protest march as part of a general strike in Shivamogga on Thursday. | Photo credit: SK Dinesh
CITU members staged a protest march in Hassan on February 12 as part of a general strike. | Photo credit: PRAKASH HASSAN
Employees and workers associated with central unions and farmers took out protest marches in Hassan and Shivamogga on Thursday as part of a day-long general strike. The Joint Committee of Trade Unions called for a general strike against the “anti-labour” and “anti-farmer” policies of the Union government.
Workers associated with CITU went on a march in Hassan and staged a demonstration at the main post office in the city. They raised slogans against the Center and demanded the withdrawal of four new labor codes. They were against the privatization of public sector enterprises and the renaming of MGNREGA.
Demonstrators besieged the post office in the city. Addressing the gathering, Dharmesh, district president of CITU, said that the Union government had adopted a policy against the interests of farmers and workers. The budget presented recently by the Union government does not offer any solution to the problems faced by the common people of the country. The government announced the labor code despite opposition from unions, he said.
CITU District Secretary MBPushpa, AITUC District President MCDongre, Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha President HRNaveen Kumar and others led the protest.
In Shivamogga, AITUC workers joined the protest march along with members of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha. The march started at the Science Field and ended at the Deputy Commissioner’s office.
The protesters demanded that the government grant the land to the bagair hukum growers and refrain from starting any process to evict them. Farmers should get three-phase power for at least seven hours a day. They also urged the Union Government to invest funds to rejuvenate the Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant at Bhadravati.
KRRS president HRBasavarajappa, union leaders Chandrappa, IB Jagadish and others led the protest.
Published – 12 Feb 2026 8:00 PM IST