Labour

Recruitment of Tamil labourers for Ceylon plantations begins

Labourers from the Tirunelveli, Tiruchi, Madurai and Tanjore areas were recruited for British coffee estates in Ceylon.

Indian Slavery Act abolishes legal slavery

Under Act V of 1843, slavery lost legal recognition in Company territories, agrestic slavery in the Tamil districts included.

First emigrant ship from Madras reaches Mauritius

Britain allowed emigration from Madras to Mauritius again in December 1842, and the first ship from Madras reached the island in April 1843.

Indentured labourers from Madras arrive in Natal on the Truro

Organised Indian settlement in the British colony of Natal began with the Truro, which brought 342 indentured labourers from Madras.

Coral Mill strike in Tuticorin

Led by V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Subramania Siva, Coral Mill workers in Tuticorin struck against poor pay and harsh conditions.

Madras Labour Union founded

B. P. Wadia and Thiru. V. Kalyanasundaram founded the Madras Labour Union, among the first organised trade unions in India.

Thiru. Vi. Ka. launches Navasakthi

Tamil scholar and labour leader Thiru. V. Kalyanasundaram started the Tamil weekly Navasakthi.

Buckingham and Carnatic Mills strike

Workers of the Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in Madras went on a prolonged strike against Binny and Co. over wages and conditions.

First May Day celebration in India

Singaravelar organised the first May Day celebration in India at Madras and launched the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan.

Singaravelar chairs first Communist conference at Kanpur

M. Singaravelu, a labour leader from Madras, presided over the founding convention of the Communist Party of India in Kanpur.

SS Rajula begins the Madras to Penang and Singapore service

The steamer SS Rajula ran a fortnightly Straits Service from Madras to Penang, Port Klang and Singapore from 1926 to 1972.

South Indian Railway strike

Workers of the South Indian Railway struck against planned layoffs of over 3,100 employees, disrupting transport across South India.

Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway strike

Railway workshop workers at Perambur began a strike against retrenchment that spread across the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway.

Thevar jailed during Pasumalai mill strike

Muthuramalinga Thevar was jailed for seven months while leading a strike at the Mahalakshmi Mills in Pasumalai near Madurai.

Kilvenmani massacre

Around 44 Dalit agricultural labourers' family members, mostly women and children, were burnt to death at Kilvenmani in Thanjavur district.

Agricultural Labourer Fair Wages Act

Under a 1969 law, Cauvery delta farm labourers had to be paid fair wages, and landowners who exploited them faced penalties.

Construction Workers Welfare Board established

Using its 1982 Manual Workers Act, Tamil Nadu created a construction workers' welfare board financed by a cess on building activity.

Manjolai labourers massacre on the Tamirabarani

Seventeen people, mostly Dalit tea estate workers, died in the Tamirabarani river at Tirunelveli while fleeing a police lathi-charge.

Mass dismissal of striking government employees under TESMA

The state dismissed between about 170,000 and 200,000 striking government employees and teachers under its Essential Services Maintenance Act.

Sivakasi fireworks factory explosion

Forty people died and over 70 were hurt when an explosion hit the Om Sakthi fireworks factory near Sivakasi.

Moulivakkam building collapse

An eleven-storey apartment block under construction collapsed at Moulivakkam in Chennai, killing 61 people, mostly construction workers.

Samsung workers strike at Sriperumbudur

About 1,500 workers at Samsung's Sriperumbudur plant struck for over a month, seeking recognition of their CITU-backed union.