SBI staff in no mood to relent

ALL BRANCHES of the State Bank of India remained closed on the third consecutive day on Wednesday following the nationwide strike of SBI employees in support of their demands. SBI ATMs ran out of cash with the consumers facing the brunt.

ALL BRANCHES of the State Bank of India remained closed on the third consecutive day on Wednesday following the nationwide strike of SBI employees in support of their demands. SBI ATMs ran out of cash with the consumers facing the brunt.

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Financial transaction worth several crores of rupees came to a standstill with the employees in no mood to compromise. They decided to continue the strike till their demands were fulfilled.

SBI employees held a meeting on Wednesday at the main branch and shouted slogans against the Union government, accusing it of pursuing anti-employees policies. Secretary of the Bank Employees Federation GM Khan claimed that other associations of bank employees had promised to support the strike. He said if the government tried to use force and break the strike, the employees would not remain silent.

The State Bank of India is the leading bank in the district and the payment of salaries and pension of various State government offices is made through the bank.

The strike has hit hard the pensioners and the salaried people who are unable to withdraw any money from the bank.

A consumer and State government employee Azizul Hai said he had to deposit school fee of his two wards and purchase books for the new session but could not do so due to the strike.

Office bearers of the SBI Employees’ Federation OP Singh and NN Tripathi said that revision of pension scheme was must and their demand was genuine. They further said the employees who retire in the year 2006, will get the pension fixed in 1992. This was unjust, they said.

Sources said the daily loss due to the strike was of Rs 14 crore in the district.

Varanasi

STATE BANK of India employees struck work for the third successive day in Varanasi on Wednesday. It was part of a nationwide strike.

All transactions, including clearance of cheques, remained paralyzed.
Officers, clerks and pension holders of all 40 SBI branches here staged a demonstration outside the bank’s regional office. They criticised the Central Government for not enhancing pension.

Agitated State Bank of India employees went on an indefinite strike on Monday in support of various demands, including review of pension. The State Bank of India Staff Federation and the State Bank of India Officers’ Association jointly called the strike.

State Bank of India Officers’ Association chief regional secretary PB Singh said all 40 branches of the SBI remained closed in Varanasi. Branches elsewhere in eastern UP also remained closed.

Moradabad
STATE BANK of India employees, including the officer cadre, held a demonstration in front of the main SBI branch today on the third day of the strike. The strike has crippled trade as well as the working of other nationalised banks here as cheques and drafts worth hundreds of crores of rupees are piling up awaiting clearance.

School teachers and employees of other departments whose salary accounts are with the State Bank if India, are suffering badly as they can not withdraw their salaries. Salary bills of government employees are also held up causing great inconvenience to a large section of people. Moradabad is responsible for 60 percent export of handicrafts from the country. The strike has affected small and big exporters as well as lakhs of labour class depending on these exporters for their livelihood. The leaders of the striking SBI employees told this correspondent that other nationalised bank were paying pension to their staff at 50 percent of the basic pay while similar demand of the SBI staff was pending fore the last 14 years.