ON APRIL 13, 2026, a demonstration led by garment factory workers in the Gautam Buddha Nagar district of Noida turned into a violent protest leading to fraught public order in several areas of the city. There were reported incidents of stone pelting, clashes between workers and police personnels, vehicles being set on fire, physical violence, amongst others. A large number of workers from several industrial establishments in Noida had gathered to protest for their long pending demand of wage hike and better working conditions.
Collective action escalated into serious law and order issues causing widespread disruption across the city. While attempts were made to frame this incident as a law and order crisis, one cannot overlook the fact that similar incidents have also occurred in other parts of the country like Ludhiana, several parts of Maharashtra, Telangana, amongst others, in the last few months. While the recent LPG crisis may have escalated matters, one would do well to not view the recent upheaval through the lens of exceptionalism. These incidents reveal a pattern of studied silence by the authorities towards the issues affecting the pan-Indian worker community, at large.
Notably, these worker protests have intensified since the enforcement of the four new labour codes. The overall sentiment of trade unions and workers’ organisations across the country towards the enforcement of the labour codes has been overwhelmingly critical. While the Noida episode might have drawn significant attention of the authorities leading to wage revisions, these incidents are symptoms of a broken industrial relations framework.
