All India Working Women Organisation
May Day 2026 Webinar
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A narrative arc from national unity to global squeeze — five key moments where working women led the fight.
300 Million Workers United
Ten central trade unions and the Samyukt Kisan Morcha called a nationwide strike across 600+ districts. Workers demanded fair wages, 8-hour days, and social security. Women workers from unorganised sectors led key actions.
Contract Workers Break Their Chains
Thousands of non-unionised contract workers shut down the Noida industrial belt demanding wage parity with neighbouring Haryana. Over 466 people were remanded to judicial custody. The agitation spread spontaneously to Manesar, Bhiwadi, and Punjab.
Demanding ₹26,000 Minimum Wage
A majority-women workforce at the Sportking textile factory has been agitating since 19 April 2026. Days after negotiations stalled, over 130 protesters were picked up from their homes and detained at multiple police stations. The protest continues.
Algorithm, ID Blocking, and Invisible Bosses
On Republic Day 2026, women beauticians, domestic cleaners, and delivery partners across India switched off their apps. Led by the Gig and Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU), they protested arbitrary ID blocking, falling incomes, and zero social protection.
How Geopolitics Hits the Kitchen
Following the US-Iran military escalation in February 2026 and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, India faces industrial gas rationing and surging food prices. For families of daily-wage workers, the strain is acute: stagnant wages meet rising costs.
Across sectors and states, workers' demands converge on a core set of rights already enshrined in law but systematically denied in practice.
The Thread That Ties the Uprising Together
From Barauni to Noida to Bathinda, one demand appears with striking consistency: end the contract labour system. The four Labour Codes have institutionalized precarity by excluding fixed-term contracts from retrenchment protection and raising thresholds for layoff approvals — creating what legal scholars call a permanently temporary workforce.
₹11,000 Wages vs 27.4% Inflation
Workers in the NCR earn ₹11,000–₹13,000 for 12-hour shifts, while the Consumer Price Index rose 27.4% in five years but wage hikes lagged at 15–20%. After deductions, take-home pay drops to ₹9,000. Trade unions calculate a living wage of ₹23,500 using the Supreme Court's own formula.
12-Hour Shifts and Unpaid Overtime
From IOCL Barauni to NTPC Singrauli to the Noida factories, workers report being forced to work 12-hour shifts while paid for only 8. Overtime dues remain unpaid for months. The Factories Act guarantees an 8-hour day, but contract workers are systematically excluded from its enforcement.
Algorithmic Control, ID Blocking, and Safety
35,000 women gig workers led by GIPSWU demand a 'red button' for medical emergencies and menstrual leave, a ban on arbitrary ID blocking, fairer rating systems, and recognition as workers under a separate central law. As one worker asked: if a daily wage is ₹833, why is ₹1,000 cut for a weekend absence?
From Mid-Day Meals to Textile Mills
Mid-day meal cooks in Chhattisgarh, earning ₹66 per day after three decades of service, demand ₹440. Anganwadi workers in Tamil Nadu face police crackdowns during their indefinite strike for regularisation and a ₹7,850 pension. In Bathinda, women textile workers demand ₹26,000 minimum monthly wages and have faced house arrests.