Union activists protested in Vijayawada on Thursday. | Photo credit: GN RAO
In response to the Bharat Bandh call by a joint forum of 10 central trade unions against the Centre’s alleged anti-labour policies, leaders of Left parties and several affiliated trade unions in Andhra Pradesh took to the streets on Thursday to condemn “policies that are damaging to the interests of the working class being pursued by both the Center and the state-led coalition”.
The protesters started at Ratham Center in the One Town commercial area and held a massive rally, holding placards and raising slogans against the ruling party. The protest rally culminated in a public meeting at the busy Lenin Centre, where leaders of the CPI(M), CPI and representatives of various unions condemned the shrinking space for public sector undertakings to make way for private players.
The protesters demanded that the central government withdraw its anti-labour policies, repeal four labor codes, set a minimum wage of ₹30,000 and strictly enforce labor laws.
CPI(M) state secretary V Srinivasa Rao and CITU state president AV Nageswara Rao alleged that public sector undertakings in Visakhapatnam have been shut down and demanded a halt to the privatization of the Visakhapatnam steel plant. They said that while the Narendra Modi government at the Center was implementing anti-labour policies, the coalition government in the state was eager to implement them.
Leaders criticized the government for failing to provide workers with minimum wages and legal protections. contract and outsourced employees have expressed concern that under the Labor Code their chances of becoming permanent employees in the future will be uncertain. They demanded immediate regularization of the services of contract workers in Andhra Pradesh by ₹300,000 and urged both the central and state governments to ensure equal pay for equal work and fix the minimum wage at ₹30,000.
The protesters also demanded the withdrawal of the amendments to the Seed Act, the amended Employment Guarantee Act and the Electricity Act and called for the abolition of the CPS (Contributory Pension Scheme) and the introduction of the OPS (Old Pension Scheme). They criticized the Center for its announced move to privatize banks and said such proposals should be withdrawn immediately.
Stating that the labor codes introduced by the Modi government benefited corporate forces rather than workers, they warned that unless the four labor codes were immediately repealed, workers’ struggles would intensify further.
The leaders called for a united and sustained movement to thwart such evil designs of the parties in power at the Center and in the state.
However, the protest had no visible impact on shops, commercial establishments, schools or banks, all of which were operating normally.
Published – 12 Feb 2026 23:19 IST