Lucknow: Hundreds of workers and trade union activists staged a protest march in the state capital on Sunday against alleged police repression on labour movements in Noida and other industrial regions across the country.
The march was organised by All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) under heavy police presence. Protesters began their march from Charbagh Railway Station and attempted to proceed towards the Chief Minister’s residence. However, police personnel stopped the demonstrators near the Loko Police Chowki after barricading the route.
Following the stoppage, the protest turned into a public meeting where workers and union leaders addressed the gathering for nearly an hour before submitting an eight-point memorandum to ACP Vikas Jaiswal.
The protest was led by senior AICCTU leaders including Dr. Rajesh Singh, Dr. S. S. Zaidi, Rana Pratap Singh, and Devanand. Workers from several districts of Uttar Pradesh participated in the march, raising slogans against the government and demanding the release of arrested workers from Noida and other industrial areas.
The demonstrators demanded withdrawal of what they described as “false cases” against workers, repeal of the four labour codes, restoration of labour laws, implementation of an ₹44,000 minimum wage, and reinstatement of the eight-hour workday norm. Protesters also demanded that scheme workers, including disaster response volunteers and “sakhis”, be recognised as employees and provided minimum wages.
Several other labour and political leaders addressed the gathering, including Ramesh Singh Sengar, Radheshyam Maurya, Shantam Nidhi, Pradeep Kumar, Vivek Mani Tripathi, Chaudhary Ramsingh, and Rajeev Kushwaha.
Speakers accused the central and state governments of pursuing pro-corporate policies and alleged that labour rights and democratic values were being undermined in favour of large industrial houses. They asserted that workers across the country would continue to resist policies they considered anti-labour and anti-democratic.
The leaders warned that if the government failed to change its “repressive approach” and did not release the detained workers or withdraw the cases against them, the agitation would be intensified in the coming days.
Among those present at the demonstration were Sulekha, Kamla Gautam, Pramod Kumar Rauniyar, Arvind Yadav, Rajeev Gupta, and Kumar Madhusudan Magan, along with a large number of workers and supporters.
