Bank employees' association to join trade unions in nation-wide strike on November 26

Guwahati: The All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) on Tuesday confirmed that it would be joining the nationwide one-day strike called by central trade unions on November 26, to protest against the government’s anti-labour policies.

As many as ten central trade unions, except Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, will be observing a nationwide general strike on November 26.

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The AIBEA in a release said, “Lok Sabha in its recently held session has passed three new labour enactments by dismantling existing 27 enactments in the name of ‘Ease of Business’, which are purely in the interest of corporates. In the process, 75 per cent of workers are being pushed out of the orbits of labour laws since they will have no legal protection under the new enactment.”

The AIBEA represents the majority of the banks except the Indian Overseas Bank and the State Bank of India (SBI).

The association has around four lakh members from a number of public and old private sector banks, including a few foreign banks.

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The association also said that bank employees will also focus on their demands such as opposition to outsourcing and contract system, opposition to bank privatisation, adequate recruitment, increase in rate of interest on bank deposits, reduction in service charges and stern action against big corporate defaulters.

“The present government is pushing its agenda of privatisation in the name of ‘Aatmnirbhar Bharat’, and is resorting to large scale privatisation in core sector of the economy which includes banking,” the release added.

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