Who is the working class?The Indian working class are the citizens of India who are being virtually disenfranchised.There are close to one billion people above the age of 15 in India who can legally work. This working age population can be divided into three broad categories from the lens of the labour market:Employed: those who are workingUnemployed: those who are not currently working, but seek work or are available for work, andNot in the labour force: those who are neither working nor seeking workThe first two categories form the labour force. Roughly 625 million Indians, or six in ten working-age people, are in the labour force, while nearly 400 million working age Indians are out of the labour force. Not in the labour force: those who are neither working nor seeking work. They have given up looking for work.There has been so much talk of India’s economic growth but the media does not report on how the workers are being laid off from all sectors. Parliamentary data from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs indicates that over 2,04,000 private companies closed between 2020–21 and 2024–25; a trend linked to restructuring, insolvency and market stress rather than labour unrest. Yet the working class is demonised and blamed for the failure of a system to deliver even the constitutional promise of permanent jobs and living wages.There has been a wave of strikes by mostly non-permanent workers right across the country just in the past two months, February-March 2026. These strikes are taking place in the background of the push to make the labour market more and more flexible “at a moment when the institutional terrain governing labour relations had undergone a decisive shift, with legal, economic and ideological pressures converging to narrow the space available for collective working-class action”.There has been a gradual reorientation of state policies in the name of promoting competitiveness and investor confidence. Judges, from labour courts to the Supreme Court, have made observations against the “indiscipline” of trade unions and the working class being an impediment to India’s growth.International experts have observed that the consolidation of labour flexibility has increasingly coincided with a narrowing of democratic space which demonstrates “that economic restructuring and authoritarian governance are not parallel developments but mutually reinforcing processes”.Contract workers fully halted refineries in Assam (Digboi, Bongaigaon, Numaligarh) and disrupted LPG/POL depots in Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat. At Panipat refinery, thousands of contractual employees struck against 12-hour shifts without overtime pay. Near-total shutdowns (95-100%) took place in Kerala, Himachal and Maharashtra, with strong contract involvement; mining (iron ore, bauxite) strikes paralysed Odisha and Madhya Pradesh sites; ports like Paradip and Tuticorin fully stopped. Steel, engineering and unorganised sectors (beedi, ICDS) had widespread but less quantified contract turnout.The majority of these workers are contract workers and have not been paid their wages for months, denied water and toilet facilities and despite this have worked on till the circumstances compelled them to protest.A list of the major strikes in the core industrial areas from February to March 2026 speaks for both the deteriorating working conditions and the growing workers’ resistance:February 2: Begusarai, BiharContract workers at the Barauni Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) refinery in Begusarai, Bihar, held protests and strikes regarding safety violations and wage disputes. The contract workers demanded payment of outstanding wages, protested against the alleged snatching of gate passes by company management and raised issues regarding the violation of safety standards.The Barauni Refinery is under the ownership of the IOCL. It produces LPG, petrol, diesel, ATF (aviation fuel), bitumen (used in road construction) and other products. Hundreds of workers, including permanent workers, contract workers and apprentices work at the refinery.The protesting workers were holding banners and placards that read – ‘Implement the government rule of eight hours’ work and enforce the declared minimum wage!’, ‘Make arrangements for labour sheds where workers can sit, pure drinking water and clean toilets at the workplace!’, etc.The protesting workers said that for a long time now, they have been forced to work excessive hours for very low wages. They are paid only once every two to three months. Government safety regulations for workplaces are being flouted, and workers are being exploited. The plant does not even have a first aid station to handle emergencies.Workers have expressed concern about the dire safety situation within the plant. Citing past accidents, they said that in December 2025, a worker died when a crane belt broke. In September 2021, a vessel explosion injured more than 15 people.February 22: Panipat, HaryanaThousands of workers at the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) refinery in Panipat, Haryana, went on strike beginning February 23. They faced a police lathi charge, and the Central Industrial Security Force fired into the air to control the crowd.The IOC refinery at Panipat has been operational since 1998 and currently employs over 50,000 workers across various units. Contract workers are employed for production, construction and maintenance with barely 1,000 permanent workers.It is among the largest integrated refineries in South Asia. The immediate trigger for the strike was the death of two workers in an accident at the refinery two days earlier. A third worker survived but had to have his leg amputated. Workers who had long endured exploitation were further incensed by the insensitivity shown by management and contractors in the wake of the accident.According to a fact finding report, nearly all of the workers are on contractual arrangements with no permanent employment. Contractual work has become the norm even within the government sector.The workers work 12 hours a day but are paid only for eight hours and they are permitted only two days of leave a month, which means they work two Sundays every month. Wages are frequently delayed, fraud is perpetrated in the name of Provident Fund contributions, and workers are denied even basic facilities such as toilets at the workplace.The new labour codes that came into effect in November 2025 have made the contract system even more perilous for workers, extending the “fixed-term employment” category across all sectors. In one stroke, the government has effectively dismantled the foundational rights of workers: the eight-hour workday, provident fund protections and overtime rules. The right to organise and unionise has been curtailed and treated as tantamount to a crime.Also read: No Daily Work Hour Cap in Draft Wage Code Rules Puts Workers at Risk of Exploitation, Experts WarnFebruary 23: Vapi, GujaratAround 800 workers at Alok Industries’ Vapi facility launched a prolonged strike, reaching day 26 by March 20. Key grievances include 12-hour shifts, delayed salaries and inadequate facilities.Alok Industries, a textile firm with operations in Gujarat and Union Territories like Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Alok Industries is primarily owned by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), which holds the largest stake at around 40% of the company’s equity shares.Workers at Alok Industries’ facility in Dadra and Nagar Haveli (specifically the Galaunda/Plandi extension near Silvassa) began protesting in late 2025 primarily over unpaid dues, lack of bonuses and wrongful terminations. Many long-term employees, including those with 15-16 years of service (90% local tribal workers), claimed the company failed to settle accounts despite plans to sell the unit to another firm named Puja. Women workers were particularly aggrieved, reporting dismissals based on age (e.g., claimed over 60) without settlement of dues.As of March 2026, there has been no confirmed resolution for the Dadra site, amid ongoing national labour agitation trends.February 26: Hazira, GujaratAccording to media reports, a protest carried out by 5,000 contract workers of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) working at the ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS) project site at Hazira, Surat turned violent with several policemen sustaining injuries and many vehicles being set on fire. The workers demanded a hike in wages and a reduction in working hours from ten hours to eight.According to the primary investigation of the police, the protests were inspired by a video of workers in an oil refinery at Panipat which had gone viral on social media.The police officials of six police stations and fire department teams reached the spot after learning about the incident. The police fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob and detained several protesting workers.February 27: Pathakheda, Madhya PradeshPathakheda contract workers in Western Coalfields Limited (WCL), Betul, Madhya Pradesh, primarily demanded action against contractors for wage recovery and an end to exploitative practices. Workers did a 15-day hunger strike against contractors who they allege have been paying merely Rs 400 to Rs 500 instead of the promised wages of Rs 1,365.The agitation highlighted contractor malpractices such as unfair deductions and delayed payments, with broad support from labour organisations including community kitchens to sustain the strikers.February-March: East Singhbhum, JharkhandWorkers at Bharat Engineering Body Building Company (BEBCO, often called “Beebco”) in the Gamharia-Adityapur, East Singhbhum industrial belt of Jharkhand have been holding a sit‑in protest and went public after an alleged attack by company‑hired persons on their peaceful demonstration in early March 2026.Workers have been staging a sit‑in picket (dharna) at and near the BEBCO gate in the Adityapur/Gamharia industrial area, demanding their statutory benefits such as Provident Fund (PF), Employees’ State Insurance (ESI), timely wages and regularisation of precarious work relations. The protest is backed by local labour organisations, including the Jharkhand Labour Karmachari Morcha (JLKM).On March 2, 2026, around 20-25 alleged “bouncers” or hired goons attacked the protesting workers using sticks and iron rods; five workers were injured, one seriously, and were taken first to Gamharia CHC and then to MGM Medical College Hospital.The intensity of the response from JLKM and media coverage suggests that the Beebco attack is a typical case for “company‑management violence” against lawful labour protest, and is being used to mobilise broader opposition to employer‑friendly labour policies in Jharkhand.March 9-10: Jamshedpur, JharkhandWorkers at Tata Steel in Jamshedpur have staged multiple protests in early 2026, primarily involving contract and vendor workers raising grievances over wages, job security, terminations and working hours.On March 9-10, workers at Tata Steel’s Tube Division protested their removal after a vendor change, despite years of service; the local MLA’s intervention led to promises of reinstatement by March 12.An indefinite strike hit the plant on March 18 over demands for an 8-hour workday, with reports of an 8-hour work stoppage.Earlier, on March 17, protests erupted in Burmamines after a contract worker’s death, demanding compensation; a similar incident on March 9 involved another fatality leading to a JKLMM-led blockade.March 10-16: Chandriya, RajasthanVideos and social media posts from early-to-mid‑March 2026 show workers staging a strike or protest at the Hindustan Zinc facility in Chanderiya, Rajasthan, with some material tagged as “HZL C/o L&T strike Rajasthan.”The core grievances cited include long duty hours, dependence on third‑party contractors, and inadequate safeguards for labourers at the smelter.There is no widely reported official resolution or formal settlement announcement from Hindustan Zinc or the Rajasthan labour department yet; media coverage is still limited to local and social media sources rather than national/print reports.March 14-15: Singrauli, Madhya PradeshWorkers at the Adani Power plant in Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh, staged an angry protest on March 14-15, following the suspicious death of a worker named Lallan Singh from Jharkhand.Lallan Singh died late on March 14 under unclear circumstances while working at the plant. Company officials claimed it was a heart attack, but workers alleged he fell from a height due to poor safety measures, with management initially attempting to suppress details and hide the body.Hundreds of workers gathered, raising longstanding grievances like contractor-based employment, low wages, lack of permanent jobs and inadequate safety. The demonstration escalated: they vandalised company and police vehicles, overturned jeeps, manhandled staff and set fire to parts of the contractor’s office or plant area.Police sent the body for postmortem at Baidhan Trauma Centre. An investigation was promised into the death and unrest, amid reports of similar past incidents at other Adani facilities.Also read: ‘Govt Doesn’t Seem to Care For Those Taking Care of Country’s Mothers, Children’These are just a few illustrations of the growing unrest and protests by contract workers across the country.With the present US-Israel war on Iran, the Indian workers working in the Gulf states have been affected. A New York Times report described the war as “a perfect storm for India’s economy”.West Asia accounts for roughly 40% of India’s oil imports and 80% of its gas. India’s export-import business has been hit by the war with key trade routes and supply chains disrupted. Already 430 enterprises in Haryana have been reported closed with 35,000 workers thrown out of jobs.India is the world’s largest recipient of remittances from workers abroad, with about 40% coming from West Asia. Now thousands of families that are dependent on this money will have no income.The central trade unions have once again called for a national strike in support of their demand for the repeal of the new labour codes. This government has often emphasised the merits of fundamental duties over individual rights. The first fundamental duty is to abide by the constitution and respect its ideals and institutions.All that these workers, citizens of India, are demanding their rights under the law and the constitution. And the government has a duty under the constitution to concede to their demand. After all, the government has emphasised the importance of duty.This is a very good occasion to put this into practice and uphold the duty of the state to rule according to the Directive Principles of State Policy where it is enshrined that the state must uphold: right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases (Article 41); provision for just and humane conditions of work (Article 42) and living wages (Article 43).Nandita Haksar is a human rights lawyer and author of several books, including How Robots Stole Our Jobs: Struggles of Suzuki Workers in the Age of AI, Aakar, 2026 (Hindi: Factory se Footpath Tak, Roboton ke daur me Suzuki ke Mazdur).