On the call of 11 central trade unions along with numerous independent sectoral federations and unions of different sectors, All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA) and Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) on Monday commenced the two-day strike to protest against policies of the Union government.
Governement’s alleged anti-labour policies, privatisation of public sector etc, are the reasons behind the move.
An agitation was also raised by the bank employees outside Canara Bank near Bharat Nagar chowk.
General secretary, All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Amarjit Kaur; president, Punjab Bank Employees’ Federation (PBEF), PR Mehta; and secretary, PBEF, Naresh Gaur, among others addressed the rally.
Kaur said, “The workers are the creators of wealth. But the rights of workers are being attacked and deprived. On the other hand, those who exploit the workers are being benefitted by the government. The joint platform of central trade unions and other trade unions have placed the 12-point charter of demands before the government.”
Demands highlighted
Mehta highlighted the important demands pertaining to the banking sector, which included withdrawal of new labour codes, stop privatisation of public sectors, including banks, equal pay for equal work for the contractual employees, stop recruiting employees on outsourcing basis, etc.
He said stringent measures should also be taken to recover bad loans. The interest rate on deposits has been declining and the service charges for the customers are also being increased.
{{/usCountry}}He said stringent measures should also be taken to recover bad loans. The interest rate on deposits has been declining and the service charges for the customers are also being increased.
{{/usCountry}}Gaur said, “Apart from these issues, there are many other issues such as restoring the old pension scheme for the post-April 2010 recruits, who are covered under the new pension scheme. Fifty percent of the bank employees are covered under the new scheme, so restoring DA-linked pension scheme for these employees and officers is a paramount demand.”
Protest outside mini secretariat by trade unions
Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and Central Trade Unions (CTU) also participated in strike and staged a protest outside mini secretariat on Monday.
Raising the slogan of ‘Save the people – Save the nation’, the protesters slammed the government over its alleged anti- people, anti-workers, anti-employees, anti-farmers policies.
box: Industry opposes strike at the end of financial year
Meanwhile, the industry opposed the strike by bank unions and slammed the government for failing to resolve the issue due to which the industry will have to face losses.
President of Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association Badish Jindal said, “Bank strike at the end of the financial year will result in losses for the industry. Banking transactions of around 1,200 crore and 5,000 crore are affected in the city and state, respectively, on a daily basis. Banks were closed on March 26 and 27 and now will remain closed for two more days till March 29.”
“The industry has to close its books and also has to submit taxes, make payments for tenders etc. Also, they will have to pay four-day interest to the banks for delayed payments. The government should intervene and extend the last dates to submit taxes. The interest for these four days should also be waived off,” Jindal said.