“I won’t come back now, my friend…” This line from a video recorded at Surat’s Udhna Railway Station in April 2020 became a symbol of the anguish millions of migrant workers faced. More than six years later, Surat is once again in the spotlight because of a workers’ agitation.
In Surat, one of the country’s major textile and embroidery hubs, workers are protesting to demand an 8-hour workday, a weekly paid holiday, and adherence to labour laws. Unions say these are not new demands but rights already granted by law, and claim that a large number of workers are still forced to work 12-hour shifts.
