Leaders put under house arrest
As protests spread from Barauni and Lucknow jhuggi fires to factory areas, authorities in multiple districts placed several union organisers under house arrest to limit mobilisation. ( ). Social posts show picket lines, food shortages cited by workers, and rapid police moves to contain demonstrations. (x.com)
Police in and around Noida placed several trade union organisers under house arrest as factory-worker protests over wages and conditions spread across industrial belts this month. (hindustantimes.com) The latest flashpoint came in Noida on April 13, when protests in Phase 2 and Sector 60 turned violent, with arson, vandalism and stone-pelting reported by police. More than 300 people were later held and seven first information reports were registered, according to police and local coverage. (indianexpress.com, deccanherald.com) Union leaders said the restrictions were aimed at stopping workers from regrouping after the crackdown. Hindustan Times reported that Centre of Indian Trade Unions national secretary T.N. Karumalaiyan said police had kept leaders under house arrest, and that Gangeshwar Dutt Sharma, the union’s Noida district secretary, was among those confined. (hindustantimes.com) The protests did not begin in Noida. The Indian Express traced the first major action this year to Barauni in Bihar on February 2, followed by Panipat on February 23 and Hazira in Surat on February 27, with workers demanding higher minimum wages, overtime pay, social security and safer conditions. (indianexpress.com) The wage dispute sharpened after the four labour codes took effect on November 21, 2025. Workers interviewed by The Indian Express said they had expected bigger pay revisions, while rising living costs added pressure in factory towns that rely heavily on migrant labour. (indianexpress.com) In Haryana, the government revised minimum wages with effect from April 1, 2026, after a gap of more than a decade. The Indian Express reported the new monthly minimum wage for unskilled workers at Rs 15,220.71, a benchmark that helped drive Noida workers’ demand for a roughly 35% increase in Uttar Pradesh. (indianexpress.com) The Uttar Pradesh government responded by announcing a wage increase for factory workers in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad and by forming a committee for talks. Hindustan Times reported the increase at around 21%, while workers continued protesting on April 14 despite the revision. (hindustantimes.com, hindustantimes.com) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath paired that wage move with a law-and-order message. On April 13 and 14, he said workers’ rights should be protected, directed stricter enforcement of labour laws, and also alleged a “conspiracy” behind the unrest, including attempts to create industrial disorder. (indianexpress.com, indianexpress.com) The unrest has overlapped with wider strain on low-income communities in Uttar Pradesh. In Lucknow, a fire tore through a jhuggi cluster in Vikas Nagar on April 15, with six fire tenders deployed and more than five huts destroyed, adding to pressure on households already facing high fuel and food costs. (thehindu.com) For now, the state’s approach is running on two tracks at once: wage concessions and police containment. Workers are still pressing for dues, overtime and basic protections, while authorities are trying to prevent the next march from reaching the factory gates. (hindustantimes.com, indianexpress.com)
