BANKING ACTIVITIES remain paralysed on second day

Ludhiana , February 21, 2013: Banking activities in the region came to a grinding halt when officers and employees entered into second day of two day strike on Thursday.

Today, Trade Union Council held a rally including  Rail Roko, in which a huge number of workers protested against the anti-labour government policies.

Naresh Gaur, Convener, United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), claimed that  the  strike has been observed very successfully  all over the country. The strike is complete and unprecedented as a result of complete failure of UPA Government to arrest price rise and to implement pro-corporate polices crushing common people.

Gaur  described the strike a biggest ever Bandh since independence due to the working class anger in which all sections of workers are participating for which Government Policies are responsible.

Regretting the inconvenience to the common people, Gaur claimed that they are left with no other way to express their anger as the government is working like a bulldogger in crushing the working class and common people in the name of new liberal policies and so called economic reforms. He told that all concessions to the common people in the name of subsidies are being withdrawn and undue benefits to the richest corporate in the name of incentives are being enhanced. Government is involved in gross corrupt practices.

In all Banks including RBI, SBI and other public sector banks, old generation private banks, foreign banks, Regional Rural Banks, and Co-op. banks, employees and officers participated in the strike. The strike has been total everywhere and paralysed the banking transactions including cash transactions, clearance of cheques, etc. 

Cheques worth about  crores could not be processed in the various Clearing Houses of  National Payment Corporation, RBI, SBI, etc. Clearing operations were totally affected in all the District and town centres also.

Employees in 80,000 branches of commercial banks and about 70,000 branches in co-op. banks took part in strike.  More than 80,000 employees and officers of these branches participated in the strike. 

Com Gaur said that if the Government will not come forward to retrace their wrong policies and resolve demands of common man, the struggle will be further intensified.