IMPHAL, July 9: Manipur witnessed strong participation in the nationwide general strike called by the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Independent Federations on Wednesday, as trade union members, bank employees, and government staff staged coordinated protests across the state.
In Imphal, demonstrators assembled at MG Avenue holding banners and placards, voicing a comprehensive list of socio-economic and labour-related demands. Among the primary issues raised were the restoration of peace and normalcy in conflict-hit Manipur, the need for safe and uninterrupted travel along national highways, and urgent relief from surging prices of essential commodities and medicines.
Protesters demanded the declaration of ₹26,910 as the national minimum wage and ₹9,000 as the minimum pension. Other key demands included the regularisation of casual and contractual workers, scrapping of the New Pension Scheme (NPS), restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), and the withdrawal of newly enacted labour codes and anti-farmer laws.
In Jiribam, members of the Manipur Government Services Federation (MGSF), along with civil society representatives and government employees, joined a parallel protest in front of Jiribam Higher Secondary School. Speaking at the event, MGSF Jiribam Advisor Ch. Direndra Singh emphasized that the protest was not just about national-level concerns, but also a reflection of deteriorating working conditions and public safety challenges in Manipur.
He underlined the urgent need for the restoration of law and order and safe access for civilians along highways that have become unsafe amid ongoing unrest.
The strike’s broader charter of demands also called for the removal of GST on essential items such as agricultural inputs, medicines, and machinery; increased MGNREGA workdays from 100 to 200 per year with a wage hike to ₹600 per day; enactment of an Urban Employment Guarantee Act; strengthening of public sector banks and insurance companies; and revocation of laws like the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019, Post Office Act 2023, and Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022.
The peaceful protest across the state was part of a larger national movement, supported by leading trade unions and federations including AITUC, CITU, INTUC, TUCC, UTUC, HMS, AIUTUC, and AICCTU.
