New Delhi Business and financial activities across the country were badly hit on March 29 as employees of banks insurance firms and other financial institutions went on a strike.

All clearing activity and foreign exchange transactions came to a standstill and checks worth crores remained un cleared due to the strike.

The employees are demanding among other things salary revision, payment of bonus and introduction of pension. The strike is also meant as a resistance to any attempt to privatize nationalized banks.

The strike has been called by the joint action committee of unions/ federations in the financial sector and includes several bank employees associations, the Reserve Bank, Gramin Bank, Life Insurance Corporations, General Insurance Corporations, NABARD, Financial Corporation of India, etc.

A report from Ahmedabad said the strike adversely affected the annual closing work of the banks besides crippling several business activities.

Addressing a gathering in front of the SBI building at Parliament Street, All India Bank Officers Confederation Vice President

Umed Singh demanded that the Indian Banks Association (IBA) should increase the retirement cost in the nationalized banks from 13% of basic pay to

Stating that salary employees was “overdue,” Umed Singh said the last salary revision in the banking industry took place with effect from November 1,1987, for a term of five years,

The strikers also held a demonstration in front of the main building of the Reserve Bank of India at Parliament Street. Bank Employees Federation of India Joint Secretary Harish Sharma criticized the Center for “following the dictates” of the IMF and the World Bank in starting moves to privatize banks. Reports from Madras, Orissa and Gujarat also said that banking and insurance Operations remained paralyzed.

Deputy General Secretary of National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE) Ashok Mehra said the Finance Minister’s “total silence” on the demands had forced the employees to go on strike.

He said pension should be introduced as a third retrial benefit without surrender of contributory provident fund. “We are not willing to mortgage the interest of bank employees and officers,” he added.

He said if the Government did not concede their demands “we will be forced to go on an indefinite strike.”

A report from Bombay said attendance in most banks, including RBI, was thin, which was reflected in trading volume in the money market and foreign exchange market.

Clearing of checks was affected, as a majority of participating banks did not turn up at the national clearing cell, In RBI, the clerical staff was virtually absent while officers were manning their respective departments.

While cash transactions at nationalized public sector banks and private banks were mostly closed, foreign banks functioned normally.

According to the All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC) Deputy General Secretary Agarwal. Monday’s strike was a warming to the government that they should not underestimate the strength of the employees in the financial sector.

He warmed in a statement in Bombay that the strike was the Start of unrest in the financial sector.

Article extracted from this publication >>  April 2, 1993