Banking comes to a standstill as workers strike; PSUs hit too

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New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Aug 20: Banking services in the country came to a virtual halt on Wednesday with about 9 lakh public sector bank employees going on a day-long strike paralysing most of commercial operations throughout the country.

The strike affected banking operations in the financial capital Mumbai, other parts of Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala, Tripura, Bihar, Assam and Gujarat. Operations in about 40,000 branches across the length and breadth of the country were either fully or partially affected as about 9 lakh employees went on strike.

The strike coinciding with the Left-sponsored nation-wide industrial stir, hit the normal banking business like cash withdrawal and cheque clearances, besides affecting transactions in stock markets and foreign exchange trading. Cash transaction activities, however, were less affected because all ATMs were operational.

However, State Bank of India and private sector lenders like ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank stayed away from the strike called by the Left-affiliated All-India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA).

The unions are protesting against the government’s reform agenda that includes privatisation, mergers and consolidation and “unrestricted” FDI in the banking sector. They are also opposing outsourcing of non-core activities.

The strike was also joined by about 5,000 Class-III employees of the RBI affecting the counters of the central bank in different cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and others.

Meanwhile, at least 50 people were injured on Wednesday during the day-long strike called by trade unions which barely affected services in rail, road and aviation and various other sectors in many parts of the country, baring the three Left-ruled states.

The strike, called by eight trade unions and supported by 40 employee federations to protest against the government’s”anti-people” and “neo-liberal policies”, virtually brought life to a halt in Left-ruled West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala. Normal life was also disrupted in several other states like Assam, Manipur, Orissa, Jharkhand and Sikkim.

In rest of the country, there was little or no impact though functioning in public sector industrial units and at ports was affected. The functioning of public sector telecom giant BSNL’s offices was also hit badly.

Rail services also bore the brunt of the strike with over 130 trains being diverted, terminated mid-way or even cancelled due to the stir called by the unions to press their demands.