Trade unions strike: Banking sector affected in various parts of country

Gujarat
More than ten lakh workers joined the strike in Gujarat, according to a trade union leader. The first day of the stir was marked by protest marches being taken out in major cities across the state. The services at banks, post offices and LIC offices got affected partially.

"In some cities, a large number of industrial workers, including those working with anganwadis and for community health (Asha), also joined employees of nationalised banks, insurance companies and post offices in the strike," said Arun Mehta, general secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU).

Mid-day meal workers also took part in protests, he said, adding that they all are demanding permanent jobs.

Mehta said this is probably the first time in the history of Gujarat that more than 10 lakh workers joined hands and participated in the two-day protests against the Central government's policies and labour reforms.

In Ahmedabad, around 3,000 protesters walked in a march from Victoria Garden to the office of the state labour commissioner, where they submitted a memorandum of demands.

"Services of PSU banks were paralysed as around 40,000 clerical-level employees joined the strike in the state," said Janak Raval, general secretary of Mahagujarat Bank Employees Association.

The protesters are demanding minimum wages of Rs 18,000 and a monthly pension of Rs 6,000, besides suspension of unilateral labour reforms being carried out by the Centre.

They are also opposing privatisation and merger of financial institutions.

Madhya Pradesh

The operations were affected in about 5,000 branches of different banks in the state, a union leader said.

Madhya Pradesh Bank Employees' Association chairman MK Shukla told PTI that about 14,000 bank employees took part in the strike on the first day across the state.

These included the employees of 20 public sector lenders and four regional rural banks among others, he said.

The employees of State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, did not participate in the stir, he said.

According to Shukla, there are 7,426 branches of different banks in the state.

Services like deposit, cash withdrawal and cheque clearance, among others, were affected, he said.

Jharkhand

Secretary of All India Bank Officers Association (Jharkhand Chapter), Prasant Sandil told PTI that the association has lent moral support to the striking trade unions in the banking sector.

We have given moral support to the trade unions agitation in the banking sector. Most of the banks across Jharkhand are closed after opening for a brief period in the day, Sandil said.

He, however, said that the State Bank of India functioned normally despite supporting the unions.

Meanwhile educational institutions, offices and vehicular traffic functioned normally across the state.

There was no impact of the strike in the Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) headquarters in Ranchi with staff reporting for duty on time, a senior CCL official said.

Production and dispatch of coal in Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) and Eastern Coalfield Limited (ECL) were badly affected in Dhanbad as labourers stayed away from duty.

AK Jha, the Rashtriya Mazdoor Colliery Sangh (RCMS) general secretary-cum-convener of the joint front of the central trade unions (INTUC, CITU, AICTU, HMS) said that due to the strike coal dispatch was affected as only 25-30 per cent of the miners marked attendance but did not work.

In Jamshedpur, business establishments and educational institutions functioned normally, but banks were closed. The Income Tax Employees Union under the banner of Central Government Employees Federation staged sit-in near Income Tax office at Bistupur in the steel city.

The banking sector was also affected in Hazaribagh and Deoghar districts, though the State Bank of India functioned normally.

Why are the central trade unions striking?

The two-day (January 8-9) nation-wide strike call has been given by 10 central trade unions. It said the main aim of their 12-point charter of demands is to revive the country's economy and save the rights of working class.

The unions are opposing the merger of public sector banks (PSBs) on ground employees will lose their jobs and employment generation will be halted.

The unions are also against privatisation of PSBs. The national shutdown was called by Central Trade Unions. CITU had said that this is the 18th nationwide general strike.