CITU Swarms Guwahati’s Shram Bhawan Demanding ₹800 Daily Wage and Repeal of Labour Codes

Guwahati: Hundreds of trade union members under the banner of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) staged a massive demonstration outside the Shram Bhawan at Ulubari in Guwahati on Monday. The protesters blocked the main gates, raising intense slogans against the BJP-led state administration while demanding a minimum daily wage of ₹800 and an immediate halt to the rolling out of the new central Labour Codes in Assam.

The agitation drew widespread participation from workers across 98 scheduled employments, including construction workers, motor transport staff, and essential "scheme workers" such as ASHA, Anganwadi, and midday meal cooks. The trade union body noted with concern that the Assam government has failed to issue a fresh comprehensive minimum wage notification for these scheduled sectors since 2015.

Speaking to reporters at the protest venue, CITU Assam State Secretary Tapan Sarma strongly criticised the current wage structure. "Workers are consistently being denied their basic constitutional and economic rights in the name of development," Sarma said. "In Assam, tea garden labourers are still expected to survive on just ₹280 to ₹289 per day. Worse, women driving our grassroots health and education networks are paid pittance—midday meal workers get ₹1,500 a month, ASHA workers get ₹3,000, and Anganwadi helpers receive ₹4,000. This structural exploitation must end immediately."

Protesters demanded that all scheme, contractual, and outsourced employees be regularised under statutory pay scales with access to Provident Fund (EPF) and ESI benefits. CITU leaders further urged the Assam government to utilize its constitutional powers to introduce state-level amendments to block the central Labour Codes, which they argue dilute safety rules and dismantle collective bargaining.

Union representatives warned that if the Labour Department fails to issue a written directive addressing their grievances, the ongoing stir will intensify across all districts ahead of their upcoming nationwide march.

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