The United Forum of Bank Unions, an umbrella organisation of all bank unions, has decided to postpone its strike to August 5, 2011, in order that the strike takes place when Parliament is in session.
“When there is a bank strike during Parliament session it will be debated as many issues relate to the Government,” Mr C. H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary, All India Bank Employees Association, told Business Line.
AIBEA is largest union with a membership of 5 lakh employees across 25 public sector banks, 11 private sector banks and 8 foreign banks.
The earlier strike date was scheduled on July 7 to coincide with the Parliament session which was expected to commence during the first week of July. With the Government postponing the session to August, the bank unions also have decided to follow suit.
As a run-up to the strike, most bank employees across public sector banks on Thursday wore badges stating the reasons for their going on strike.
When around 10 lakh bank employees go on strike for a day, it is estimated that Rs 75 crore of wages would be foregone.
A few years ago, when banks went on strike it crippled the economy. But will it be different now with ATMs and adoption of technology? Mr Venkatachalam said it will still impact the economy as the number of people doing transactions without actually going to the bank is negligible.
Asked about the objective of going on strike for a day, he said: “It is symbolic.” In a democratic country protests should understood by the Government, and it must redress the grievances of the workers, he said.
He said the intention of the unions is not to disrupt work, but to highlight employees' grievances against the management and the Government. It is employees who are sacrificing by losing one day's salary.
“If our strike does not yield results, we will intensify our agitation by having repeated and continuous strikes,” he added.
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