As apprehended banking services throughout West Bengal like the rest of India, came to a grinding halt this morning in response to a two day nationwide strike from today, (on 30 and 31 May) called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), a conglomerate of nine bank unions, to press for their demand for a 30 per cent hike in salary with immediate effect.
Informing this All India Bank Employees President Rajen Nagar said here on Wednesday that since this morning all banks and their branches downed their shutters as over 450,000 employees of all Public sector, Private and Regional Rural Banks, and even the security guards of their respective ATMs joined the two day nationwide strike on 30 and 31 May in support of their demand.
Expressing sincere regrets for causing severe inconveniences to millions of bank customers throughout the country because of the two day strike, Nagar squarely blamed the alleged big brother attitudes of the Indian Bankers’ Association by not agreeing to UFBUs demand for a 30 per cent pay hike for all Bank employees in accordance with the previous Tripartite agreement with them, signed in 2012.
Instead of listening to us and seat for a dialogue for a negotiated settlement of the issue,they unanimously decided to offer only a two per cent hike in the Bank employees salary against our demand for 30 per cent, Nagar said adding that in view of the current inflation and hike in prices of all commodities ‘we cannot accept such an offer and have decided to go for a two day All India strike in protest’.
But again when his attention was drawn to the severe inconveniences to people because of their decision to close even all ATMs across the country,including over 21,000 odds in West Bengal alone,and that too at the time of payment of monthly salary and other dues for the employees of both organised and un organised sectors, Nagar claimed that they had no other option but to call the strike to draw the attention of IBA.
He, however, assured the customers that all on line bank transactions would remain open on 30 and 31 May. Meanwhile,though the largest public sector Bank State Bank of India announced yesterday that all efforts would be made to keep their ATMs open and ensured that they would never run out of cash during the next two days, none of their ATMS was found to be open anywhere in the city today.
Apprehending that no cash would be available during the striking period,almost all branches of every public and private sector banks experienced huge turnout of customers both in their branches and outside the ATMs on Tuesday trying to withdraw money.
Incidentally this was for the second time this year such a nationwide bank strike was called by UFBU causing huge trouble to the customers,particularly those living in rural India and in far flung areas.
Hindusthan Samachar/Ankur/Shri Ram Shaw\
