Bank strike: AIBEA to join trade unions in nationwide general strike on November 26

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The All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) on Tuesday said it would be joining the one-day nationwide strike on November 26 called by central trade unions to protest against the government''s anti-labour policies.

Ten central trade unions, except Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, will observe a nationwide general strike on November 26.

"Lok Sabha in its recently held session has passed three new labour enactments by dismantling existing 27 enactments in the name of ''Ease of Business'', which are purely in the interest of corporates. In the process, 75 per cent of workers are being pushed out of the orbits of labour laws since they will have no legal protection under the new enactment," the AIBEA said in a release.

The association represents the majority of the banks except State Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank. It has four lakh bank employees from various public and old private sector and a few foreign banks as its members.

In Maharashtra, around 30,000 bank employees from 10,000 bank branches of public sector banks, old generation private sector banks, regional rural banks and foreign banks are observing the strike, the release said.

The union said bank employees on November 26 will also focus on their demands such as opposition to bank privatisation, opposition to outsourcing and contract system, adequate recruitment, stern action against big corporate defaulters, increase in rate of interest on bank deposits and reduction in service charges.

"The present government is pushing its agenda of privatisation in the name of ''Aatmnirbhar Bharat'', and is resorting to large scale privatisation in core sector of the economy which includes banking," the release said.