Hyderabad:Tens of thousands of workers, students and political leaders in Telangana walked off the job on Wednesday, joining a nationwide general strike called by central trade unions and farmers’ organisations to protest the Centre’s new labour codes and other economic policies.
Banking, transport, postal services, power supply, gig-platform operations, municipal services and educational institutions reported partial shutdowns or delays. Hospitals and emergency facilities remained open, but several essential services ran with reduced staff. Protest rallies, traffic blockades and slow-downs were reported in Hyderabad, Warangal, Khammam, Karimnagar and Nizamabad. Public-transport frequency dipped in many districts, and numerous government offices functioned with skeletal personnel.
Intuc Telangana led demonstrations alongside affiliated unions representing anganwadi workers, sanitation staff, gig-economy workers and contract employees. “The new labour codes strip away protections: no job security, no union rights, no real safety net,” Intuc general secretary R. D. Chandra Shekar said, accusing the Centre of refusing to convene the Indian Labour Conference for dialogue.
Trade-union leaders said more than 25 crore workers nationwide had joined the mobilisation. They pressed for repeal of the four labour codes, immediate filling of sanctioned government posts, strengthening of MGNREGA with additional workdays and higher wages, and the launch of an urban employment-guarantee scheme. Protesters also cited soaring inflation, wage stagnation and privatisation of essential services as key grievances.
Hundreds of students, led by the SFI, marched from Sundarayya Vignana Kendram to Indira Park in Hyderabad, denouncing the National Education Policy for “promoting privatisation” and “marginalising scientific inquiry.” SFI state secretary T. Nagaraju said repeated exam paper leaks under the National Testing Agency had rendered national entrance tests “unreliable and unfair,” calling for the agency’s dissolution.
Separately, the National Yadav Rights Committee and Somavanshi Arya Kshatriya Samaj pledged support for Telangana Jagruthi’s planned rail roko on 17 July, which seeks 42 per cent reservations for backward classes in local-body elections.
Union leaders said Wednesday’s action was “only the beginning” of an extended campaign. Unless the Centre addresses employment, education and workers’ rights, they warned, protests would escalate in the months ahead.
