Members of various trade unions, led by the CITU, blocking road in front of Madurai railway junction on Monday, demanding repeal of the four labour codes brought out by the Union government.

| Photo Credit: R. ASHOK

Emphasising the demands of working-class people, including labourers, farmers and agricultural labourers, and condemning the anti-labour and anti-people policies of the Union BJP government, a nationwide picketing and prison-fill protest was held on Monday.As part of the protest, a rally involving workers started from the Kattabomman statue in Madurai and proceeded towards the railway station, where a picketing and prison-fill protest was organised.Trade unions, including CITU, LPF, AITUC, INTUC, TUTC, UTUC, HMS, MLF and AIUTUC, participated in the protest.The key demands included the immediate withdrawal of the four anti-labour codes, enactment of a law to provide a minimum monthly wage of ₹26,000 for workers, fixing a remunerative Minimum Support Price (MSP) for agricultural produce, withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Act 2025 and withdrawal of the Seeds Act 2025.The protesters also demanded that public sector undertakings not be handed over to private entities and that actions stripping away labour rights, trade union rights, the right to strike and collective bargaining rights be stopped.They sought a monthly pension of ₹9,000 for EPF-95 pensioners and a minimum monthly wage of ₹42,000 for scheme workers such as anganwadi and ASHA workers.Other demands included abandoning the India-US trade agreement, which they said would affect the rural economy, withdrawing the National Education Policy, which they alleged would privatise and commercialise education, and establishing a national welfare fund with appropriate allocations to protect the welfare of unorganised workers.CPM State Executive Committee member Madhukur Ramalingam flagged off the protest in Madurai.The police arrested hundreds of people who participated in the picketing and detained them in private marriage halls.The police arrested more than hundreds of people who engaged in picketing and detained them in private marriage halls. Published - August 10, 2026 07:12 pm IST