Banking services in Mysuru district were affected on Monday as employees staged a two-day strike in response to a call from the Forum of Bank Unions to protest against the privatization of public sector banks.
Barring a few private banks, employees of all other banks joined the strike.
The employees held a demonstration on the TK layout in the SK zonal office complex and demanded that the privatization of central banks, disinvestment of LIC and privatization of insurance companies be stopped.
H. Balakrishna, Convenor, United Forum of Bank Unions, Mysuru told Hindu The strike was complete on the first day with all the employees joining the movement.
He said that on Tuesday the employees would again gather at the regional office of Canara Bank in Najrabad.
A note from UFBU, Karnataka stated that privatization would mean handing over the financial sector to the capitalists, which, according to it, would jeopardize the savings of common people, among others.
The UFBU said the central government has made several announcements in its budget regarding financial sector reforms, including privatization of IDBI and disinvestment of LIC including two public sector banks.
The Karnataka chapter of the forum said in its note, “These are all regressive steps and need to be opposed in the interest of the nation and its wealth and we all must unite and hand over the invaluable assets of the nation to the capitalists.”
The strike has affected the public to a large extent due to the banks being closed on 13 March (second Saturday) and 14 March (Sunday). With the strike on 15 and 16 March, the banks will reopen only on 17 March (Wednesday).
“People have been inconvenienced by the closure of four days of banks,” said some customers, who visited a branch here.
“The strike notice was issued for a long time and announcements were also made at the branches,” said a bank employee.
.
Leave a Reply