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Asia
India: Flipkart warehouse workers in Haryana strike against pay cut
Thousands of Flipkart warehouse workers at Gurgaon, Haryana walked out on June 14 over wage cuts and unsafe working conditions. Workers said their monthly pay has dropped from around 18,000 rupees ($US190) to 12,000–14,000 rupees, with some workers reporting earnings as little as 50 rupees ($0.53) for a night shift.
The situation is worsened by extreme heat, with inadequate access to water, rest areas, and cooling facilities. Workers demanded restoration of previous wages, compliance with minimum wage laws, and provision of basic amenities.
The Indian Federation of App-Based Transport (IFAT) threatened to escalate the issue into a nationwide solidarity movement if concerns remain unaddressed, highlighting the critical role of warehouse workers in sustaining India’s booming e-commerce sector.
Flipkart is one of India’s leading e-commerce marketplaces and has been majority-owned by Walmart since 2018. It has 22,000 employees.
Health workers at Gurgaon’s Civil hospital strike for overdue wages
Around 550 health workers, including sweepers, data entry operators and Class IV employees, began an indefinite strike at Gurgaon Civil Hospital on June 11 over delayed wage payments, disrupting essential services. The workers said they had not received wages for several months, causing financial hardship.
They also raised concerns about unpaid allowances and poor working conditions, calling for immediate intervention from hospital authorities and the Haryana government. While officials said they would soon release the outstanding salaries, workers said they would continue the strike until payments have cleared.
Uttar Pradesh: Domestic workers in Greater Noida strike over assault
Domestic workers in Greater Noida West halted work after a house-help worker was allegedly assaulted by a resident at an apartment complex in Gaur City 2 on Tuesday. The incident prompted workers associated with Snabbit, an app-based platform for booking household help, to suspend assignments and demand action.
Hundreds of workers reportedly joined the protest, leading to repeated cancellations on the platform as workers said they would not accept new bookings until the victim received justice.
The episode has renewed concerns about the safety and dignity of domestic workers in gated communities and on app-based service platforms. Worker groups say the incident points to the need for clearer accountability, stronger grievance mechanisms, and better protections for household support staff.
Contract workers from the Government Institute of Medical Science in Greater Nordia strike for permanent jobs
Hundreds of contract workers, including nurses, technicians, attendants, and clerical staff, at Greater Noida’s Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) struck on Monday demanding permanent jobs. Workers said they were promised permanent positions at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic but are now being asked to clear recruitment exams, despite years of service.
Many workers allege that inexperienced candidates and even first-year medical students are being preferred over seasoned staff. Hospital authorities insist recruitment must follow government norms and examinations, stressing that no current outsourced worker will lose their job. Strikers, earning 20,000 ($212) to 30,000 rupees monthly, argued their experience and sacrifices deserve job security.
Maharashtra: Nagpur Municipal Corporation sanitation workers end strike
Door-to-door garbage collectors employed by contractors at the Nagpur Municipal Corporation began an indefinite strike June 11, halting garbage collection across five zones of the city. The strike was triggered by delays in salary payments and non-payment of earned and casual leave for three months.
Although the corporation claimed the contractor agreed to release pending payments and services would resume, workers insisted only partial relief had been offered. Workers ended the strike on Monday after receiving assurances from the corporation and the contractors.
Tamil Nadu: Saravan Bhavan restaurant workers in Chennai protest unpaid wages
Workers from the Saravana Bhavan restaurant in Chennai gathered outside the Murugan temple at Vadapalani with their salary slips in their hands on June 12. The workers, most of them employed at the restaurant for 10 to 20 years, told media that they have not been paid wages for six months causing them a lot of difficulties.
Workers also alleged that they were not given legal benefits, including the Employees' Provident Fund, and threatened to file a case in the labour court if they did not get justice.
Chennai urban health centre workers protest outstanding wages
Contract nurses, lab technicians and doctors from Chennai’s Urban Preliminary Health Centres protested on June 11 and occupied the Rippon Building, headquarters of the Greater Chennai Corporation. Workers demanded the immediate release of delayed May salaries, permanent job status and an end to draconian attendance practices using apps, which they say is causing unfair salary deductions due to system errors.
Bangladeshi apparel workers protest over outstanding wages
Around 150 apparel workers from Nassa Garments in Dhaka's Tejgaon Industrial Area held a sit-down protest on a nearby road blocking traffic from 10.30 a.m. on Tuesday. They were demanding payment of outstanding wages, a problem that has repeatedly triggered unrest in the country's garment sector.
The blockade caused severe congestion across Tejgaon, Mohakhali, Farmgate and nearby areas. Long queues of vehicles formed on major roads. Police intervened and held discussions with the protesters in an effort to clear the road and restore traffic movement.
The protest reflects growing anger among garment workers over wage arrears and worsening living conditions. Despite the sector's major contribution to Bangladesh's export earnings, garment workers continue to face delayed wages, insecure employment and rising living costs.
Australia
Victorian public hospital allied health professionals strike for better pay and conditions
On Tuesday, thousands of allied health professionals from public hospitals across Victoria walked out for 24 hours. They rallied outside the Department of Health building in Melbourne before marching to Parliament House as part of a campaign for improved pay and conditions under a new Public Sector Enterprise Agreement covering more than 13,000 allied health professionals.
Allied health professionals are university-qualified healthcare workers who diagnose, treat and rehabilitate patients, and are essential members of multidisciplinary hospital care teams.
Workers rejected the Victorian government’s pay rise offer of 3 percent per annum, arguing it is below inflation and the minimum safety-net increases determined by the Fair Work Commission, which are a 6 percent increase to the minimum wage and 4.75 percent for workers on award rates.
The workers include radiographers, sonographers, physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists and social workers. They are represented by branches of the Health Services Union, including the Victorian Allied Health Professionals Association (VAHPA), the Medical Scientists Association of Victoria (MSAV), the Victorian Psychologists Association and the Association of Hospital Pharmacists. The unified action indicates the determination of this key group of public hospital to the state Labor government’s pay cap.
The MSAV has been negotiating with the government for 14 months and is seeking a 28 percent wage increase over four years. MSAV members began their campaign with an April 1 strike and introduced work bans, including working to rule. The union says the government has not addressed claims for improved career progression, reduced workloads and greater support for professional development.
The VAHPA has been negotiating for eight months and is seeking pay increases in line with the Fair Work Commission’s flagged gender-based undervaluation findings. VAHPA are seeking a 36.18 percent wage increase over three years and have introduced work bans, including working to rule and not billing or charging patients.
NRMA roadside assist mechanics in New South Wales strike again
About 260 National Roads and Motorists’ Association (NRMA) patrol officers, who provide roadside assistance across New South Wales, stopped work for 48 hours and protested outside the company’s Sydney head office on Monday. The action, called to demand an improved pay offer in a new enterprise agreement, followed a 24-hour stoppage on April 28—their first strike in 23 years.
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union members are seeking a 17 percent wage increase over four years, with 5 percent in the first year and 4 percent in each of the following three years. The union says the patrol officers are among the lowest-paid mechanics in the state compared with those employed by local businesses.
After six months of negotiations, NRMA has offered a 3.5 percent increase in the first year, followed by annual increases of 3 percent and a 1 percent sign-on bonus. The union says this falls below Sydney’s current annual consumer price index rate of 4.4 percent, which it expects to rise.
Stowe electricians in New South Wales demand pay rise
Over 150 Electrical Trades Union members from Stowe Sydney Construction stopped work for 48 hours on June 11, then on Monday morning voted to strike again for 48 hours. The action disrupted Sydney construction sites, including work on the $1.3 billion Microsoft data centre at Kemps Creek.
Workers are seeking improved pay and conditions in a new enterprise agreement. The union has accused Stowe of refusing to bargain genuinely or listen to its workforce.
DOF ROV operators off Western Australia strike for pay rise
About 50 subsea remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operators employed by DOF Australia on oil and gas pipeline maintenance and construction vessels off Western Australia began one-hour rolling stoppages on June 7. The workers want improved pay and conditions in a new enterprise agreement.
The workers are members of the Australian Workers Union and their bargaining unit is the Offshore Alliance (OA). They voted unanimously on May 27 for future industrial action which could include work stoppages ranging from 30 minutes to 4 hours. The OA accused DOF of using untrained ROV operators as strike breakers during industrial action.
The OA claimed it is trying to restore wages and conditions it says were stripped from ROV workers in 2016. It accused offshore employers of taking advantage of previously unorganised workers by implementing a 14 percent cut to ROV industry rates under the fake banner of “industry survival.”
Viva oil refinery workers in Victoria strike against attacks to pay and conditions
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) members at Viva’s oil refinery in Geelong, Victoria began a campaign of industrial action on June 12 with a four-hour stoppage and other action, including indefinite bans on overtime and call-backs, with plans for more stoppages in the next few weeks.
The union claimed that their employer UGL Operations and Maintenance are aiming to strip away vital protections, including redundancy and income protection, and force its 33 members back onto basic award conditions in its proposed enterprise agreement.
Melbourne metropolitan council workers walk out again for higher pay and conditions
On Wednesday, over 1,000 workers from eight Melbourne metropolitan councils stopped work for 24 hours and rallied outside state parliament as part of an ongoing multi-employer wage dispute. Action followed a 24-hour strike on May 5 that involved outdoor crews, library staff, aged-care workers, maternal health nurses and administrative workers.
Australian Services Union (ASU) members want wage increases above inflation, staffing guarantees and measures to address rising workloads, which the union attributes to years of cost-cutting and state government rate-capping policies. According to the union, bargaining has stalled across the eight local government areas, with workers yet to receive a pay offer after six months of negotiations.
An ASU spokesperson said the state Labor government’s rate-cap policy had resulted in workers effectively losing ground in real wages over the past five years. Workers have threatened to reinstate partial work bans, which could disrupt bin collections and halt parking infringement enforcement.
Peabody locks out Wambo Mine washery workers in New South Wales
Nineteen coal washery workers at the Peabody Energy-managed Wambo coal mine in the Hunter region, north of Sydney, have been locked out for two weeks by management in response to their industrial action. The Mining and Energy Union (MEU) members, who are employed at the washery within Glencore’s United Wambo Joint Venture are in dispute with Peabody over its proposed enterprise agreement.
Workers began industrial action with a three-day strike on May 1 and another three-day strike on May 8 in opposition to Peabody’s pay rise offer of only 2.5 percent per year and its proposed changes to bonus arrangements that would leave them worse off.
Peabody is also refusing to backdate any wage increase and insists workers go another full year before seeing further increases. It also wants to move to fortnightly pay and reduce crib breaks.
In a separate dispute, MEU members at Glencore mines in the Hunter region are currently fighting the company’s plan to introduce three tiers in new agreements. The lowest tier has no bonus, with progression controlled by management rather than based on time or experience. The MEU claimed the new lower tiers would lock in cheaper labour-hire rates that could reduce current annual wages by 24 percent, or around $38,000 per year.
RACQ roadside assist mechanics strike for pay parity
Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) roadside assistance mechanics stopped work for 24 hours on Monday following failed negotiations for a new work agreement. The workers are demanding pay parity with RACQ auto workshop mechanics.
The 78 members of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union voted unanimously on June 2 to take industrial action and on June 5 RACQ refused to pay them when they put in place partial work bans, effectively locking them out for 24 hours.