One September 2, over 180 million workers went on a one-day strike in India. Workers from state-run factories, power stations, and banks, and at garment factories in Tamil Nadu, automobile factories in Karnataka, a major hospital in Delhi, transportation industries in Haryana, iron mines, to sanitation plants, all partcipated, making it the largest strike in history (Guardian 9/2)! This strike cost Indian bosses over $2.5 billion dollars. It is a victory for working-class consciousness.
The strike was called in response to Prime Minister and leader of the fascist Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Narendra Modi’s vicious attacks on workers in the name of balancing the budget and improving the economy. Under Modi, health workers in some states have not been paid in months and food subsidy and distribution programs are unfunded. The government is actively encouraging private employers to attack workers attempting to unionize while labor protections have become weaker and weaker. Modi has pushed for increased foreign investment and privatization of state-run industries, which would lead to even lower wages and fewer jobs.
When the government learned of workers’ threats to strike, it offered to increase the minimum wage from $96 to $135 per month, but workers did not take the bait (Al Jazeera 9/2/16). They struck and are demanding a minimum wage of $268 per month, stronger labor laws and enforcement of the laws, universal social security, and a ban on foreign investment in the railroad system. Women are playing a large role in this struggle, and union leaders say it’s essential to get equal pay for men and women as part of this strike.
Some politicians are threatening to invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) on sanitation workers in Ahmenabad who are still on strike.  Similar to New York’s Taylor Law, ESMA allows the government to fine, fire, and arrest striking workers if they don’t return to work.
These millions of workers are standing strong and know that they, not the bosses, have the power. If they continue fighting together, the bosses’ attacks won’t work. This working-class unity terrifies the bosses, because the bosses know that it will eventually eliminate them and their racist, sexist profit system.
The racist U.S. media has refused to publicize any news of the strikes because they know that workers realizing their power in one country can inspire workers worldwide. CHALLENGE is the only newspaper that spreads news of working class struggles all around the world. The Progressive Labor Party distributes CHALLENGE in over 27 countries and we aim to unite the international working class.
It is the job of the Progressive Labor Party to turn this struggle into one for communist revolution. Any victories won from the strikes can be taken away, as we see in the United States where pensions, benefits, and pay are being slashed. The only way to maintain long-term victory is to fight for a world where workers, not bosses, run society.