Unions demand the end of state repression against the workers’ movements for decent wages and better working conditions, warning that repression cannot assure industrial peace in the country.

The protests organized across the country by workers outside the formal trade unions is a sign of the growing realization of the need for collective bargaining and united struggles.

On February 12, as part of the All-India General Strike, 600,000 workers downed tools and almost 100,000 participated in street actions in South India’s largest state, Karnataka, whose government, ruled by the main bourgeois opposition in the center, is rushing to implement anti-labor laws legislated by the BJP.

New labor codes, enacted last month amidst strong objections from the majority of unions, are widely seen as an assault on the basic rights of the working classes won through generations of struggle.

Samsung India Workers Union (SIWU) announced the end of strike after the management agreed to respond to all the demands raised by the striking workers and not take any punitive measures against them.

The Karnataka state government, home to one of the world’s largest IT sectors, has proposed increasing working hours from 10 to 14 per day