CITU expresses its deep concern over the most unfortunate and unconstitutional statement made by the Chief Justice of India on 29 January 2026 while hearing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in Penn Thozhilalargal Sangam vs Union of India (W.P.(C) No. 42/2026). Unfortunately, the words of the CJI appeared to resemble those of the advocates of already failed neoliberal policies. It is further embarrassing that the rationale advanced in the statement has neither theoretical soundness nor empirical validity. On the other hand, there exist hundreds of examples which show that organised and protected labour actually contributes more to the growth of productivity.
The statement came at a time when the country is moving towards the 12 February General Strike called by the joint platform of almost the entire trade union movement against the imposition of the Labour Codes. The Labour Codes are designed with the perspective that weakening the right to unionisation and leaving workers defenceless before the attacks of the employer class is the only way towards Ease of Doing Business. The Indian working class has resolutely established the inappropriateness, rather the impropriety, of this theory. Regrettably, the statement of the CJI resembled the political-economic illogic of the Modi Government.
CITU points out that such a statement, particularly from the custodian of the Constitution, undermines the fundamental constitutional right to association. The insinuating remark that trade union leaders are largely responsible for stopping industrial growth in the country can in no way be substantiated by facts on the ground. However, the right to association for Indian workers is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19(1)(c) of the Indian Constitution. This right is regulated by the Trade Unions Act, 1926 (together with subsequent amendments), which provides for registration and legal immunity for union activities. It enables collective bargaining and representation of workers’ interests.
Be it the four labour codes, the Shram Shakti Niti, the dismantling of MGNREGA, various incentive programmes, or legislations accelerating the expropriation of the country’s resources for private gains — all form part of the aggressive restructuring of the Indian state in favour of capital and the fast-withering away of the welfare state as envisaged in the Indian Constitution. The statement exposes the changing nature of the Indian state in a very dangerous manner.
As far as the CJI’s statement blaming trade unions for industrial closures is concerned, it is totally divorced from factual reality. The Labour Bureau’s reports on “Industrial Disputes, Closures, Retrenchments, and Lay-offs in India” are the most comprehensive and objective sources of data on the matter. A closer look at the data reveals a significant decline in industrial disputes, reaching a 17-year low in 2023, with only 30 disputes reported by September 2023. This marks a stark contrast to 2006, which saw the highest number of disputes at 430, followed by 421 in 2008 and 389 in 2007.
From 2006 to 2014, the average number of industrial disputes was 354, but this figure dropped sharply to just 76 between 2015 and 2023. In fact, the total number of industrial disputes has been less than 100 each year since 2018. Moreover, the phenomenon of industrial closures, both legal and illegal, across the states of the country, if examined closely, would reveal that the incidence of closures is much higher in states where the trade union movement is visibly weak or minimal.
Conversely, in a recent written response in the Lok Sabha, the Minister of State for Corporate Affairs, Harsh Malhotra, stated that 2,04,268 private companies were closed over five years due to amalgamation, conversion, dissolution, or being struck off under the Companies Act, 2013. Further, the figures of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) also vindicate the nature and reasons for the closure of industries and the percentage of recovery of debts by creditor public sector banks.
Hence, contrary to the illogical claims of neoliberal apologists, it is not industrial disputes by trade unions that are forcing industrial units to close down. On the contrary, it is the crisis within the capitalist neoliberal order and the unbridled concentration and financialisation of the economy, at the cost of the MSME and the productive sector as a whole, that have led to increasing industrial closures. Trade unions can in no way be made a scapegoat to cover up the failure of the policy regime and economic governance.
The Hon’ble CJI also ridiculed the plea for minimum wages for domestic workers, whereas in many states scheduled minimum wages for domestic workers are already in operation. CITU urges the CJI to review and reconsider the statement.
CITU reaffirms that the upcoming 12 February General Strike, called by the central trade unions and supported by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha and the platform of unions of agricultural and rural workers, is not only to defend the hard-earned rights of the Indian people but also to defend and save the national economy from a perverse economic order and governance. The working class has never received anything through the benevolence of institutions or governments; it is only through struggles and sacrifices that rights have been earned and defended, not only for workers but for the people and society as a whole.
Issued by,
(Elamaram Kareem)
General Secretary.
