People's Democracy

CITU Congratulates Bank Employees for Strike

ON August 22 the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) congratulated the ten lakh employees and officers of the banking sector for their successful strike action at the initiative of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU).

(As the CITU expected, the strike on the second day also, i.e., August 23, was total all over the country.)

One notes that the, the all-in united platform of all unions of employees and officers in the banking sector, had called for a two day strike in the sector to oppose the retrograde Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill 2011. The bill, the UFBU charged, is meticulously designed to weaken and sabotage the nationalised banks and facilitate the process of gradual takeover of Indian banking sector by foreign financial tycoons. The strike also aimed at resisting the move of rampant outsourcing and contractisation of regular work in the banking sector and against the closure of rural branches. The UFBU said these retrograde moves for deregulation and privatisation of the financial sector would push jeopardise the national economy. Thus by opposing these measures through the two day strike on August 22-23 the bank employees’ movement shouldered a great patriotic task.

While extending solidarity to the bank employees’ united struggle, the CITU asked the government of India to draw a lesson from the massive strike action and scrap the said bill, scrap the anti-employee  recommendations of the Khandelwal committee, put a stop to outsourcing and contractisation of banking services and to closure of rural branches and other retrograde measures. The CITU said the entire bank employees’ movement is determined to continue its fight against all such retrograde measures and thus defend the country’s banking sector and national economy.