Bank staff on one-day strike, services hit

Employees of public sector banks have gone on one-day strike on Tuesday opposing outsourcing of non-core activities to the private sector, among other things.

The strike by bank employees is part of the one-day all-India general strike, called by major central trade unions.

Six insurance unions, representing public sector life and general insurance sectors, have also extended support to the strike call.

Operations like deposit, withdrawal as well as clearing are affected in public sector banks, including largest lender State Bank of India, because of the strike.

There are about 87,000 branches of public sector banks across the country.

The state-owned lenders control about 75 per cent of banking business.

In the private sector, barring few services like clearing, operations in large lenders like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, and foreign banks are almost usual.

"The strike is against government's policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. We demand the government to review its anti-people policies," All India Bank Employees Association general secretary C H Venkatachalam said.

"Bank unions are demanding enactment of stringent and effective measures to recover bad loans and opposing unilateral imposition of Khandelwal Committee recommendations," he said.

The unions are also opposing banking sector reforms and outsourcing of jobs, he said.

About 8,00,000 employees and officers affiliated with these unions will participate in the strike, he claimed.

"All- India Bank Employees' Association, Bank Employees Federation of India and National Organisation of Bank Workers have given a notice calling for all India Bank Strike on February 28, 2012 on certain demands," an SBI statement said.

The central government-appointed Khandelwal panel had suggested a slew of measures, including outsourcing more non-core activities in a time-bound manner.

The panel had also recommended raising the standard of recruitment, including the methodology and content for tests, besides making the testing of computer skills mandatory for both officers and clerks.

The Khandelwal Committee on Human Resources had also suggested that the minimum qualification for clerks and sub-staff should be graduation and class 10, respectively.

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