Noida, an industrial city in India, was the scene of massive uprisings and a series of strikes last April that brought life to a standstill and led to the erection of barricades.

The pent-up anger over the new labor law – which took effect in November 2025 and permits work hours to be extended to 10-12 hours – combined with the spark of wage inequality, led to a massive explosion.

This uprising of the working class began with a sudden strike by contract workers at the Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India factory in Haryana State – a neighboring State to Noida – demanding a wage increase. By April 8, approximately 3,000 workers from a dozen firms in Haryana had gathered at IMT Manesar to support their fellow workers’ struggle.

On April 9, when the Haryana State government responded to the protests with a 35% minimum wage increase, Noida workers -primarily in the garment, hosiery, and light manufacturing sectors- who were doing the same work as workers in the State of Haryana but earning nearly 6,000 rupees less per month, quickly realized this situation and took action to demand higher wages.

The demands of the workers in Noida, rooted in their own struggle for survival, can be listed as follows:
   – A minimum wage of 20,000-26,000 rupees, as opposed to the current wages of 10,000-15,000 rupees in Uttar Pradesh, which have not been revised since 2014,
   – A maximum 8-hour workday, contrary to the current norm of 12–16-hour shifts across all seven days of the week,
   – Double overtime pay for hours worked beyond the standard, as mandated by law but routinely violated in practice,
   – Payment of unpaid wages owed by several employers,
   – Equal conditions for temporary and permanent staff, including written contracts, paid leave, and social security rights; the implementation of rights from which 58-67% of the workforce in Uttar Pradesh is completely deprived,
   – The repeal or withdrawal of four new Labor Laws that unions claim have legalized 13-hour workdays and stripped them of their collective bargaining rights

Protests in Noida first began as work stoppages and mass peaceful sit-ins at over 82 factories. On April 9-10, workers gathered near the NSEZ metro station in Phase 2 (a major industrial hub and official industrial zone in Noida) and took to the streets demanding a minimum wage of at least 20,000 rupees to survive. Tensions between workers and management escalated on the second and third days.

The protests initially began spontaneously, without guidance from established unions, as workers were spurred into action by the impact of the wage hike in Haryana. At the grassroots level, the union organizations present from the outset included the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangharsh Abhiyan (MASA) – an umbrella organization bringing together 16 small labor unions – along with Bigul Mazdoor Dasta, IFTU Sarvahara, Mazdoor Ekta Committee, All India Labor Reform Sangharsh Abhiyan (AILRSA), and Naujawan Bharat Sabha. These are unions operate outside the mainstream trade union federations, focusing particularly on informal and contract workers.

The strike and protests in Noida served as a rallying point for workers’ struggles in various States across India. The strike in Noida triggered solidarity strikes at Motherson Group factories in Faridabad and Bhiwadi. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath characterized the incident as a “conspiracy” aimed at derailing workers’ actions.

On the fifth day, April 13, the struggle turned violent; all major roads, including the NH-9, Sector 62, and Akshardham entry points, were blocked by approximately 45,000 workers. In Sector 84, vehicles were set on fire, and reports of stone-throwing and other violent incidents emerged; police used tear gas against the workers. Heavy security forces, including the PAC and RAF (the State’s police force), were deployed to the area, and all police leaves were canceled.

Workers pouring into the streets voiced the harsh conditions of the class struggle against capital; they rebelled against 12- to 16-hour shifts, unpaid wages, and the systematic stripping of their rights needs by the bourgeoisie, leaving them with no security. One worker summarized the plight of his class during the protests: “Rent is 5,000 rupees. When you add food, transportation, and the children’s education, it’s impossible to survive on this salary”.

Police violence peaked on April 13-14; over 350 workers were arrested. The detained workers were subjected to mistreatment. This violence will be etched into the memory of the proletariat and, like any counterrevolutionary force, will face its reckoning sooner or later.

As of April 16, most factories had resumed operations, and the protests had transformed into scattered, contained gatherings. Thus, the intense phase of the uprising lasted approximately one week (April 9-16). Outside the industrial zones, domestic workers in Noida officially joined the protests, demanding wage increases and better working conditions. This shows how, with a more organized and militant core at the forefront, the entire working class – even those workers who are most scattered and disorganized due to their working conditions – can come together in struggle.

On Saturday, April 17, the Uttar Pradesh Government officially announced revised minimum wages for specific jobs across the State. These wages were published in accordance with Section 3(b) of the India States and Union Territories Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 and superseded the previous wage decision dated March 25, 2026. Although the protests were suppressed, the wage-related demands were addressed to reduce the protests, and significant increases were applied to the wages. The increases were differentiated based on workers’ skill levels.

 Percentage Increase in Revised Wages
                        Compared to Previous Wages

 Unskilled:    ₹11,313/month → ₹13,690/month (~21%)
 Semi-skilled: ₹12,445/month → ₹15,059/month (~21%)
 Skilled:      ₹13,940/month → ₹16,868/month (~21%)

These figures fall well short of the ₹20,000-₹26,000 demanded by workers and unions. Deeper structural issues – such as the absence of written contracts, lack of social security, four Labor Laws, and the criminalization of protests – remain entirely unresolved. As of the end of April, more than 350 workers remain in custody. Seven preliminary investigation reports have been filed, and lawyers have reported that multiple charges have been added to prevent their release on bail.

From April 30 to May 8, Section 163 of the Indian Penal Code (restrictions on public assembly) was enforced across Gautam Buddh Nagar, covering the Labor Day period. Restrictions affected the International Workers’ Day, to avoid workers demonstrations in this day.

Although bourgeois left-wing organizations were not very effective in the strikes, they attempted to influence workers with their own opportunist lines. As we noted in EKP17 (TICP 65):

“But today in India, as everywhere, political and trade union opportunism prevails, which blocks or diverts the motion of all those who have been disinherited in the defense of the national interest and the preservation of bourgeois power. The strength of the proletariat as a class, the only potentially revolutionary one, lies not exclusively in the number, but by the sound consistency of its defensive organizations and their political direction, which must end the intransigent struggle against the bosses and their State. This will only happen when one of their minorities, the most advanced elements of the proletariat class, are recognized in the revolutionary communist party”.

The rise in oil and gas prices will lead to higher inflation in the coming months, making the wage increases won through these struggles – which were already less than what was demanded – insufficient to meet the needs of the Indian working class, who, along with workers around the world, will once again take up the fight for their immediate interests.

Prime Minister Modi’s statements on Monday, May 11, in which he called for a “collective national effort,” asserting that “… Whenever the country has faced a war or any other serious crisis, every citizen has fulfilled their responsibilities… Even today, it is necessary for all of us to unite and fulfill our responsibility… " already sound like a threat to the working class, warning them not to take up the struggle again and to meekly accept further sacrifices for the supposed greater good of the Nation – an ideological smokescreen behind which, in every country, the social privilege and political domination of the bourgeoisie are concealed.

The only way for workers to break these strike bans and police violence and confront the capitalist economic crisis is to organize in combative class unions under the leadership of the Communist Party and to overthrow bourgeois rule in India and throughout the world.