: Jan HastakshepWorker unrest flared up after implementation of new labor laws by Centre: Jan Hastakshep
NEW DELHI : Across the country—specifically in industrial hubs like Noida, Manesar, Gurgaon, and Faridabad—workers (particularly contract laborers) have staged sit-ins, protests, and strikes demanding higher minimum wages, fixed working hours, double overtime pay, bonuses, and dignified working conditions; many have faced arrest in the process. There is immense discontent among contract laborers and gig workers.
Workers in several states have also become vocal about their rights. The situation deteriorated rapidly after the central government repealed existing labor laws and implemented four new labor codes, igniting worker unrest. Beyond the Noida-Gurgaon-Manesar belt, labor movements emerging in other states over recent months have broken the long-standing stagnation in the labor movement.
Demands have been raised for the release of workers arrested during struggles at industrial companies in Noida, Manesar, and Gurgaon, and for the withdrawal of cases filed against them. Several labor organizations have stepped forward to assist them. Approximately 90 workers remain incarcerated in Kasna Jail, Gautam Buddha Nagar. Among those arrested, stringent provisions—such as the National Security Act (NSA)—have been invoked against journalist Satyam Verma and student activist Akriti Chaudhary.
These individuals were named in lists of workers provided to the police by company managements. The brutal manner in which the police suppressed worker unrest in Noida, Gurgaon, and Manesar exemplifies the transformation of these states into “police states.”
The team observed that the government suppressed the Noida protests with extraordinary severity; furthermore, by attempting to discredit the movement—likening it to the farmers’ protest and alleging Pakistan-sponsored involvement—the authorities trivialized and downplayed the workers’ genuine grievances. A confrontation has arisen between company managements and workers after companies refused to implement labor law recommendations; the majority of the affected workforce consists of contract laborers. While companies have stirred into action following these agitations, they continue to avoid implementing fair wage standards. Following the active participation of labor unions in this struggle, the workers have organized themselves and vowed to continue the fight until a resolution is achieved.
Workers in various industrial companies—spanning locations such as Bihar (Barauni), Haryana (Panipat Refinery), Madhya Pradesh (Singrauli), Chhattisgarh (Vedanta in Korba), Andhra Pradesh (UltraTech), and Tamil Nadu—have announced plans to intensify their agitation. These movements have spread from the Gurgaon-Manesar belt in Haryana, Surat in Gujarat, and the industrial city of Noida in Uttar Pradesh, reaching as far as Uttarakhand.
Large-scale worker protests were witnessed in the NCR region starting in the first week of April 2026, accompanied by heavy-handed police action, including lathi-charges, arson, and arrests. Noida, in particular, saw widespread repression and the arrest of workers. Corporate media outlets propagated narratives linking this worker discontent to Pakistan. Observing the rising unrest, the civil rights organization “Jan Hastakshep” dispatched a fact-finding team to Noida and Gurgaon-Manesar to assess the situation and the events that had unfolded. The team has released its investigation report. The team concluded that the immediate trigger for the worker unrest in Noida originated in the neighboring state of Haryana. News of the situation spread rapidly among workers in Noida and Greater Noida, resulting in massive protests. The methods employed by the Uttar Pradesh administration to suppress the labor movement are a matter of grave concern for civil society
In fact, the National Capital Region (Delhi-NCR) has emerged over the past few decades as the country’s largest industrial hub, hosting a massive workforce. Noida and Greater Noida rank among the largest industrial clusters in North India. The region houses approximately 15,000 to 20,000 industrial units—ranging from small to large—across sectors such as automobiles, electronics, mobile manufacturing, garments, auto parts, IT hardware, construction, warehousing, and exports. These units employ around 1.7 million (17 lakh) workers, comprising 300,000 to 500,000 regular employees and 1 million to 1.2 million (10 to 12 lakh) contract workers. Contract workers account for more than 75 percent of the workforce.
The region comprises the Noida Special Economic Zone, Ecotech 1-12, Surajpur Industrial Area, Kasna Industrial Area, and the Greater Noida industrial belt. Workers employed in these companies hail from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.According to official figures, there are approximately 11,000 industrial units in Noida. Of these, 9,700 are operational, and around 7,500 are registered under the Factories Act. The total number of industrial units across the Noida, Greater Noida, and Yamuna Expressway regions is approximately 15,000. These include industries such as manufacturing, electronics, garments, auto parts, and warehousing. Between 800,000 and 1.2 million unorganized sector workers are employed across Noida’s industrial and construction sectors. The Gurgaon and Manesar regions of Haryana are also known as major hubs for automobile, auto-parts, garment, electronics, and export-oriented industries; however, there is no official data regarding the exact number of industries or employed workers there.
According to the Haryana Labour Department’s database, there are approximately 20,000 industrial units—ranging from small to large—in Gurgaon.Industry associations estimate that there are around 3,000 factories in IMT Manesar alone. Additionally, there are over 5,000 small and medium-scale industrial units located in Gurgaon’s non-regularized industrial areas, such as Daultabad, Basai, Kadipur, and Behrampur.IMT Manesar alone employs between 3.5 and 4 lakh workers, with over a lakh of them working on a contract basis. Over the past decade and a half, the proportion of contract workers in the automobile and auto-parts industries has risen sharply; in most companies, the number of permanent workers has dwindled compared to contract laborers. According to estimates by Haryana’s industrial bodies and the Labour Department, the total industrial workforce in the Gurgaon-Manesar belt stands at approximately 10 lakh—comprising 3 lakh permanent workers and 7 lakh contract workers.
The NCR region encompasses 24 recognized industrial areas, including Gurugram, Manesar, Faridabad, Greater Noida, Noida, Ghaziabad, Bahadurgarh, Naraina, Wazirpur, Mayapuri, Bawana, and Narela. Furthermore, there are numerous unregistered small-scale industries across the NCR. Collectively, thousands of industrial units—ranging from small to large—and construction sites employ between 80 lakh and 1.5 crore workers across permanent and temporary categories.
Delhi-NCR has emerged as the country’s largest hub for industry and the workforce, yet workers here often toil under exploitative and inhumane conditions. Rights won by the nation’s industrial workers through decades of struggle and sacrifice have been eroded, leaving factory laborers at the mercy of contractors’ whims rather than the companies themselves.A four-member fact-finding team from ‘Jan Hastakshep’visited the Gurgaon-Manesar region to understand the situation regarding labor unrest, the “Puliya” (culvert) incident, and the conflict between workers and industrial management. The team comprised former Delhi University Professor Ish Mishra, civil rights activist Siddharth, Jan Hastakshep co-convener Anil Dubey, and senior journalist Haider Naqvi.
The team found that workers—both regular and contract—were distressed due to the Haryana government’s failure to raise the minimum wage for a decade, compounded by skyrocketing inflation and a fourfold increase in gas prices.The team interacted with affected workers, labor activists imprisoned in Bhondsi Jail, released labor leaders and activists, and the families of those arrested. The police administration had arrested 44 individuals—including 22 women—across 95 FIRs; they were subsequently released on bail. Additionally, 17 people were detained in connection with 94 FIRs. Many of them were held in Bhondsi Jail under Section 307 (attempt to murder). While Ajit Singh, General Secretary of the union, was granted bail, over 90 workers remain incarcerated. In response to the labor unrest, the state government had constituted a committee to address wage hikes. Based on a consensus reached between company management associations, trade unions, and the Labour Department, the Haryana government agreed on April 3 to raise the minimum wage to ₹15,220, with the notification issued on April 8. For the past decade, the Haryana government had not increased the minimum wage, leaving workers with a wage of ₹11,200—an amount they often did not receive in full.Furthermore, contract workers do not have the right to form a union or join existing ones. According to Ajit Singh, contract workers at the automobile company had four demands: increasing their wages from ₹11,000 to ₹20,000, doubling overtime pay, receiving a bonus before Diwali in accordance with the Bonus Act, and—crucially—being treated with dignity at the workplace. Mohinder Kapoor, President of the ‘Minda Sonika Auto Component India Employees’ Union’ (a vendor for Maruti), stated that the colleagues arrested by the police on charges of assaulting two female constables have been booked under serious sections, including attempted murder.
Ajit Singh noted that in 2019, Minda Sonika laid off 450 long-serving workers. Similarly, citing an economic slowdown, Honda had dismissed over 2,000 contract workers—many of whom had been employed for nearly a decade. The experience of the Minda Sonika trade union serves as a stark example: when the union began enrolling contract workers as members, the company had its recognition revoked.‘Jan Hastakshep’ constituted a fact-finding team to investigate the incidents in Noida. The team included Supreme Court Senior Advocate S.S. Nehra, former Indian Foreign Service officer Ashok Sharma, Ish Mishra, Anil Dubey, and Senior Advocate M.Z. Ali. A key reason for the workers’ simmering discontent in Noida is that many have been working for wages of ₹10,000–₹11,000 for 15 to 20 years. This long-standing grievance fueled their protests. Subsequently, the Uttar Pradesh government announced a 21% hike in the minimum wage, effective April 1, 2026—an increase considered negligible given the working hours and the rising cost of living.
The team found that following the massive police crackdown and the arrest of approximately 100 men and women, the workers and their families were subjected to harassment and humiliation for several days. Many of them remain in jail, and the workers appeared fearful. They are under a police cordon. They were refraining from speaking to the investigation team. The team also attempted to speak with administrative officials, but they refused to engage in conversation. Rajveer, a trade union leader who works for a multinational company, explained that twenty years ago, the issue of wages was non-existent in Noida and Greater Noida because workers here earned higher salaries compared to those in other states. The contract labor system did not exist then.the rapid changes occurred after 1995 and again after 2000; wages began to decline, and the industry subsequently stalled due to demonetization, GST, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers’ earnings began to drop. Now, the contract labor system has become the norm here. Many companies have arrived from Delhi, Haryana, and Rajasthan; they do not hire regular employees but instead rely on contract workers brought in through contractors. When the investigation team contacted some workers in Noida, it was revealed that those who had left for their villages—driven by fear of police repression or company management—have not yet returned to work. Even among those who did return, none secured employment with the same companies where they had previously worked.
