Who cares for Bank Strike?

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ENARADA, Hubli, February, 12, 2014:

Bank Employees went on Two Days Strike on 10th & 11th Feb., 2014. The Strike is for realization of 15 percent wage hike for bank officers and bank employees and to achieve Bank Unions’ other demands, as per the bank Unions – UFBU. According to the Unions 10 percent wage hike offered by the banks is insufficient. Conciliation drama made by the Central Government’s Labour Ministry failed. Finance Minister says bank union’s demand is unjustified, but failed to regret for the inconvenience caused to the public due to the bank strike and also failed to resolve the issues concerned before the Strike or till now.

But, there is no say from the Indian Banks’ Association or from the Banks managements of various nationalized banks. IBA and bank managements have not issued any notification to the public regretting for the inconvenience that would be caused due to bank men strike and their views on the demands of the bank unions. Even the Bank Unions too forgot to regret for the inconvenience caused to the banking public. This means that, the bank managements, Bank Unions, Government are distancing themselves from the bank customers. In fact, IBA and bank managements are silently supporting the bank officers/ employees strike, since the same in turn would increase the wages/ perquisites of top officials in banking industry.

Bank Strike

In other words, none cared to the bank strike. The demands of the bank unions were remained unattended even after two days bank strike. Banking public suffered without even a regret received from the concerned.

A few decades back, when bank employees were to go on strike for their economic and other demands, IBA, Bank Managements and the Central Governments were opposing the same through advertisements, Notices, publicity, etc. and were stating that, bank employees were getting higher wages than other sectors. Other trade unions in the Unorganized Workers were supporting the bank men strike and bank strike was a model for other unions in various industries to fight for their demands. In all the District and major centers bank employees were taking processions, rallies were addressed by various other industries trade union leaders, in spite of the threat by bank managements of transfer of bank men, suspensions for leading/ participating in the strike, etc. The bank men and their union leaders at the cities were active, in spite of no funds at their disposal.

The situation of wage payments in other sectors not changed. Bank unions too were not attempted to get the unorganized sectors to be organized and not attempted for the increase in wages in other sectors. Bank unions have also failed to get minimum benefits to their own Pigmy Agents/ Daily Deposit Collectors in the banks for years together. Bank unions also failed to include the demands of the Pigmy Agents/ Daily Deposit Collectors in the banks in the charter of demands submitted to IBA.  Pigmy Agents/ Daily Deposit Collectors in the banks are not getting even the Provident Fund, Weekly paid holidays, paid National & Festival Holidays, Bonus, etc., which are even enjoyed by the Unorganized workers working in Hotels, Cinema, Shops, Small Factories, etc. Bank Unions have also failed to took up the demands of the employees engaged in ATMs, branches, Head Offices as Security Guards and these work are done through contractors. It is pity that, even the Central Government failed to extend the EPF Act to this category of workers working in banks and kept Banks outside the purview of EPF Act. Bank Unions too failed to ask the Government to extend these minimum benefits to the Pigmy Agents/ workers working in ATMs, etc. Bank Union leaders made the Pigmy agents/ workers on the alleged contract basis as untouchables and lived in ivory towers.

The bank strike is now a holiday for majority of bank men, as they remain indoors to look after their personal/ family matters during the strike days, with the full assurance of no threat from the bank managements on their normal working conditions. Processions are not taken in these strikes, in spite of combined joint actions by various Unions in banking industry and availability of huge funds at the disposal of various unions in the banking industry. Unions have not spent for conducting rallies prior to the strike at various centers, not distributed handbills, appeals to their own employees explaining the reasons behind the strike, not appealed to other trade unions to support their strike, not appealed to banking public to cooperate and tolerate the inconvenience due to strike actions. If the bank managements threaten of direct actions on the bank men, then automatically with the new generations in the banking industry, the striking bank men numbers would dwindle downwards, due to lack of educating the bank men by their own leaders, the importance of participating in the strike.

Then who has cared for Bank Strike? Who has to care for Bank Strike? Which unorganized workers will support bank employees Strike? Whether the bank unions sponsored strike, indirectly supported by the Bank managements is for social justice?

Letter written to Editor by: M. Rama Rao, Trade Union activist working for the last over four decades. No.9, Vijaya Bank Upstairs, Broadway, Hubli 580 020 (Mobile : +91 9448115650)

 

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