On April 12 and onwards, Noida was witness to widespread protests by frustrated industrial workers. Blue-collar workers in large numbers came out on the streets and hurled stones and set ablaze vehicles. In some places, the protesters clashed with police.There were similar sporadic uprisings in faraway places such as Surat, Haldwani, southern industrial hubs, as well as in neighbouring Haryana towns like Baraouni, Manesar, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Bhiwandi. These were not coordinated protests. But the issues they faced were similar. Stagnating wages along with rising inflation invariably neutralised whatever was the nominal wage rise of these workers. How the narrative has changed from the good old days when we were reporting trade union news. No doubt, there were many demonstrations then as well, which had led to some disruption. But then there was also an elaborate system for conciliation, collective bargain and arbitration. This gave the workers enough opportunity to seek redress at specified forums.Under the rules imposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime, however, there is hardly any platform to air the workers’ grievances. And there is no one to listen to their problems. This forces them to take to the only available option: sporadic protests, as has been happening in the recent years. Latest data showed that regular wages in urban areas declined by 1.2% during the Modi years. Compare this with an increase of 4% during the UPA rule in urban areas and 3% in rural areas between 2004-05 and 2011-12. The Periodic Labour Force Surveys also suggest a decline in real terms for casual workers, with the earnings of rural male casual workers declining by 3% per annum between 2022 and 2025 and those of their urban counterparts declining by 0.2% per annum.Illustration: Pariplab ChakrabortySecondly, in the good old days, factory workers were led by responsible leaders – from trade unions – who knew the rules and acted accordingly. In the absence of such dispute resolution systems, now, the only option left for workers is to take to the streets, and this often leads to violence because the state also provides no space for peaceful protests. Also at play is the changing nature of the labour regime in India. A chapter in a 2026 book, titled Legal and Ethical Dimensions of Contemporary Work and Education narrates how unscrupulous middle men are exploiting labour in service of MNCs. Consider the fate of contract workers even within ‘formal’ industries. In 2025, about 58.2% of workers had no written job contract. And 51.7% were not eligible for any social security benefits. Not only this. More than 47% were not eligible for paid leave. Thus a significant section of workers employed in formal establishments are, in practice, informally employed.And 67.8% of regular workers in the state had no written contract, 62.4% were not eligible for paid leave, and 59.2% lacked access to any specified social security benefit. It meant 46.3% of workers were without a written contract, paid leave and social security. This is in addition to the long hours in difficult environments, lack of basic facilities, and the vulnerability of the contract workers to arbitrary dismissals. This is confirmed by field studies. They cite many obnoxious practices among the employers and contractors. They terminate the services of the employees as they complete nine months. This was to avoid pay raises to them under the rules. Another gain for the contractors is that each new recruitment comes with initial lump payments to the recruiter. A television journalist who talked to workers said they were frequently beaten up and the women employees exploited. Another field report says that under the contract system, workers steadily lose both their wages and dignity. Even the legally mandated minimum wage remains out of reach. “On paper they show one thing, in hand we get something else,” a victim says, referring to the payslips that inflate figures while actual payments fall short. Overtime, which by law should be paid at double the hourly rate, is routinely undercut. “We work extra hours, but they give only a single,” the study quotes a worker as saying. During the 12-hour-work days, even rest is monetised against the worker. “Lunch is 45 minutes, but they cut one full hour,” he says. “Even if you are 10 minutes late, they deduct one hour.” Breaks for tea and meals are bundled together and docked from wages, shrinking already meagre earnings. There is absolutely no concept of paid leave – nor sick or earned leave.A new cell for industrial peaceThe Adityanath administration’s response to the labour unrest in Uttar Pradesh is rather curious. Noida police has set up a new cell for ‘coordinated action for industrial peace’ with 15,000 registered units under its jurisdiction. An assistant police commissioner will head the cell. Apparently, the double engine government views the labour unrest as a law and order problem to be handled by the police.The increasing reliance on contract labour has weakened the enforcement of labour protections on the ground. Data indicates that the share of contract workers in total industrial employment has risen steadily over the past decade, from about 35% in 2014-15 to 42% in 2023-24. Firms are increasingly relying on intermediaries to hire workers. Workers hired through contractors are less likely to have written agreements, paid leave, or access to social security schemes such as Employees’ State Insurance (ESI).The contract system under middlemen has spread to innumerable sectors. By mid-90s, unskilled or ‘class IV’ employees began disappearing. Apparently, they came under contracting agencies with lower salaries and minimum benefits without any ‘unnecessary burden’ on the employers. Internal computer networks did much of the office communication rendering the Class IV staff redundant. Thus, the old ‘Gurkhas’ were replaced by the poorly paid, scarcely trained security agencies. Regularised office peons became ‘messengers’ and office ‘boys’ under contractors, mostly on daily payment. Who are these labour brokers who have also been assigned the role of recognised shop-floor fixers? They are the ‘labour intermediaries’, licensed recruiting agents and sub-agents (often called “dalal” or “arkati“), employment agencies, and informal social networks. They invariably indulge in deception with high recruitment fees, debt bondage which are often part of their package.Their intimidating methods and threatening attitudes have now forced even the Adityanath government to act against the labour contractors-cum-floor managers. Notices were issued to 203 contractors and 10 licences were cancelled. Forced work without overtime payment and withholding of salaries and bonuses were the common malpractices among the contractor-cum-floor managers. Of course, Adityanath conveniently blames ‘urban naxalites’ for instigating the workers into violence. Not only this, he says he also suspects a conspiracy by outside forces like Pakistani elements who want to ‘destabilise’ India.As supposed proof of outside meddling, the police is blaming groups from outside the district for ‘inciting’ the workers.Noida police also claims to have identified at least two X handles operating from Pakistan as the source of misleading information that reignited violence during factory workers’ protests in Gautam Buddh Nagar. This false propaganda, the police claims, prompted the workers, who had begun dispersing peacefully, to return and clash with police, leading to widespread rioting, vandalism and arson.Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has vehemently countered allegations of outside meddling, though the mainstream media conveniently ignored it. He said the workers’ upsurge was a response to the Yogi government’s neglect of the working conditions of the labour force in UP. What has the BJP government done in the past 10 years for the workers, he asked.According to the police, around 45,000 workers from various sectors gathered at more than 80 locations in Noida. Police arrested 66 protesters on the first day, and over 350 workers later. The workers also denied the police allegation that “external elements” were fuelling the violence.Beyond factory workers’ protestThe Noida strike also has a subtext. Soon after the factory workers started protesting, domestic workers in the areas also joined, seeking better pay packages and working conditions. University staff in the area demanded a wage raise too.Decades ago, courts and commissions had routinely disfavoured the idea of contract labour for government, or the official recognition of it in private units. The old Royal Commission on Labour (1929–1931) had stated that the “floor manager should have full control over the selection, hours of work and payment of workers”.“It is a matter of surprise that employment of contract labour is steadily on the increase in many organised sectors, including the public sector,” Justice Chinnappa Reddy had said in his 1987 verdict (Ibid). The Supreme Court had in those days said that the “general consideration is that contract labour should not be encouraged”. All this was when the official political narrative was against this kind of reckless privatisation in government and outsourcing to private units. However, as the official policy changed and contract labour became respectable, the judiciary also followed the suit. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court has decisively batted for contract labour in establishments. The steady march of contract labour can only worsen the condition of workers across India. In an age of fractured mandates, personality cults and transactional alliances, P. Raman brings clarity to India’s shifting political equations. With Realpolitik, the veteran journalist peers beneath the slogans and spin to reveal the power plays, spectacle, crises and insecurities driving India’s politics.