People's Democracy

Bank Employees Hold Successful Strike

C P Krishnan

ABOUT ten lakh bank employees and officers, spread over more than 80,000 bank branches all over the country, organised a one day protest strike on Friday, August 5, which proved to be a huge success. The reports from all the states show that the shutters of all the banks --- public and private, Indian and foreign, regional rural and cooperative --- remained closed. The strike call given by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UBFU), was aimed mainly against the so called banking sector reforms of the UPA-II government.

It is notable that the UBFU comprises all the nine unions in this sector, namely the AIBEA, AIBOC, BEFI, AIBOA, NCBE, INBEF and INBOC (both affiliated to the INTUC), NOBW and NOBO (both affiliated to the BMS). 

The strike was observed by every bank staff --- right from part time sweepers in the subordinate cadre up to the senior managers in the officer cadre. There were mass meetings of bank employees at all the district headquarters to explain them the issues and demands of the strike. There were demonstrations in all the towns and day long dharnas in the state capitals, all of which scored huge participation by hundreds of men and women bank employees. On the strike day, big rallies were held in all the district centres all over the country. In all the state capitals and particularly in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Patna etc, there were militant gatherings of thousands of bank staff, shouting slogans against the anti-people policies of the central government. These were addressed by various leaders of the UFBU, besides leaders from the central trade union organisations like the CITU and AITUC.

The strike proved to be a grand success in so far as the aim to register the unequivocal opposition of bank employees and officers against the present policy framework was concerned. The main issues on which the protest was held related to:

1) The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill 2011 which portends privatisation of our public sector banks and hand-over of our private sector banks to foreign capital.

2) Insensate outsourcing of regular jobs, hitherto being performed by regular bank staff, thereby endangering not only the job security of the employees but also the secrecy, safety and security of the personal and business finances of the banks’ clientele.

The strike also aimed to press for (1) recruitment to fill up more than one and a half lakh existing vacancies in various banks; (2) the central government’s clearance in regard to the package finalised between the Indian Banks Association (IBA) and the UFBU about providing financial relief for the next of kin of bank employees who die while on duty; and (3) an early settlement of pending demands of the grameen and cooperative bank employees and officers etc.

The strike spelt a halt to banking operations in all parts of the country. In the eastern part of the country, the picketing by bank employees commenced at 6 a m on the strike day, forcing a total shutdown of the clearing operations and downing of the shutters of administrative offices like the regional, zonal and head offices of the public sector banks. Moreover, branches of the new generation private and foreign banks witnessed similar scenes even though the contract employees could not directly participate in the strike there.

The strike received solid support from the fraternal organisations. It was a matter of great significance and source of strength for the striking bank employees and officers that the central trade union organisations, viz the INTUC, BMS, HMS, AITUC and CITU, extended their wholehearted support to and solidarity with the strike. The solidarity support and demonstrations of fraternal unions in the insurance sector, Reserve Bank of India, NABARD and BSNL, besides the organisations of central and state government employees, were a great source of encouragement to the fighting force. Even though this total strike caused some inconvenience to the banking public, there was solid support from them as the message that the strike was aimed at ensuring their larger interests reached them properly. Another encouraging factor was the solidarity support that came from World Federations of Trade Unions (WFTU).

The strike was necessitated because of the total failure of the conciliation process because of the government’s adamant attitude. The chief labour commissioner convened two rounds of conciliation meetings on August 1 and 3. Also, a high-level meeting by the secretary of the Department of Financial Services along with the IBA chairman was held with the UFBU on August 3. But they did not offer any concrete solutions so as to resolve the issues except assurances that the issues could be settled in due course by discussion. It was thus that the strike became unavoidable and inevitable.

The audacity of the finance minister, Pranab Mukerjee, also played a role in precipitating the strike. He was so audacious as to conduct a meeting of the big corporates  at New Delhi on August 1 and assure them that all the bills relating to ‘reforms’ --- including those in the banking sector --- would be passed in this very session of parliament. This took place even while the conciliation meeting between the IBA and the UFBU was still on.

The success of the strike posed a striking question for the prime minister of this country: On whose side this government is? On the side of the aam admi or on the side of the corporates?

The bank employees received with a sense of joy the news that their grievances were voiced in the parliament through members of parliament like Tapan Sen of the CPI(M) and D Raja of the CPI.

Now to take stock of the situation and chalk out the next course of action, the UFBU is going to meet at Bengaluru soon. It is clear, however, that bank employees and officers all over the country are in no mood to let the issues be ignored, and they are prepared to fight the retrograde anti-people financial policies of the UPA-II government till they are reversed in favour of the common man.