Bank Employees to join Bharat Bandh on November 26

The All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) has announced yesterday (Nov 24) that it will join the one-day all India strike or Bharat Bandh on November 26, 2020 called by the Central Trade Unions to protest against the anti-labor policies passed by the government.

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

According to the release, the present government is promoting the privatization agenda in the name of “Aatmnirbhar Bharat” and is adopting large-scale privatization in many sectors of the economy including banking.

The All India Bank Employees’ Association represents the majority of the banks, barring State Bank of India (SBI) and Indian Overseas Bank. It has 400,000 bank employees from different public and old private sectors, as well as several foreign banks as its members.

In Maharashtra state, about 30,000 bank employees from at least 10,000 bank branches of public sector banks, old generation private sector banks, regional rural banks and foreign banks will be observing the nation-wide strike under Bharat Bandh.

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Except Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), ten other central trade unions will also join the nationwide general strike on Thursday (November 26). Here is the list of ten central trade unions participating in the strike:

1. All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU)
2. All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)
3. All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC)
4. Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU)
5. Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS)
6. Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC)
7. Labour Progressive Federation (LPF)
8. Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA)
9. Trade Union Co-ordination Centre (TUCC)
10. United Trade Union Congress (UTUC)

The union stated that bank employees will also bring their demands into focus during Bharat Bandh on November 26, such as opposing bank privatization, opposing the outsourcing and contract systems, adequate recruitment, and taking severe actions against defaulters of large companies, increasing the rates of interest on bank deposits and reducing service charges.