Indian farmers protest against trade deal with US

Farmers in India are observing a nationwide shutdown on Thursday to protest against the trade deal that is being finalized with the US.

Trade unions that have called for the strike are also protesting against new Indian labor codes, according to reports.

The protesters said the trade deal with the US will have a negative impact on farmers and agricultural workers, Mint reported.

The strike is being observed by ten trade unions and is expected to affect normal life in 600 districts across the country, representatives said.

Banking, transportation, and other key public services are expected to be affected, as around 300 million workers across sectors are expected to participate.

“The deal is one-sided, America has negotiated it for the welfare of its own farmers, not Indian farmers,” Vijoo Krishnan, general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), a farmer’s union, told RT India.

The protestors are also demanding that the labor codes introduced last year should be abolished. They alleged that the codes undermine labor rights, ease hiring and dismissal norms, reduce protections, and exclude a large section of informal workers from legal coverage.

“We believe they reflect conditions akin to slavery. If these labor codes are implemented, the working class in this country will effectively be reduced to a state of servitude,” P. Kamala, a Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) leader, told RT.

The strike is likely to have a major impact in the southern states of Kerala and Karnataka, as well as the eastern state of Odisha, due to the presence of strong trade unions.

A labor union leader claimed a thermal power station in the southern state of Tamil Nadu had been shut down Thursday. Port operations at Thoothukudi in the state were also disrupted.

The strike evoked a partial response in West Bengal, the Hindustan Times reported.