Bank, Insurance employees to participate in Dec 14 gen strike

Vijayawada, Dec 12 (UNI) More than four crore bank and insurance employees will participate in the one-day nationwide general strike, called by the sponsoring committee of Trade Unions on December 14 to mount pressure on the Centre to support their demands.

All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary Ch Venkatachalam, told UNI, the demands, included stopping disinvestment of profit-making and strategic PSUs and corporatisation of defence production units.

In the banking industry, employees were already protesting against the Centre's move on privatisation of banks and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in private banks upto 74 per cent.

They were also asking the Centre to bring a separate comprehensive legislation for agricultural workers, he added.

Mr Venkatachalam said the Centre should immediately enact the Urban Employment Guarantee Bill to cover the urban unemployed and remove the ban on recruitment and stop downsising the workforce.

The employees of AIBEA and Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), Private Sector Banks, foreign banks and trade unions like CITU, AITUC, HMS, teachers, Central and state government employees, LIC and four public sector General Insurance Companies would participate in the strike, he informed.

He said major central trade unions had urged the UPA government to take effective measures to check prise rise and strengthen the Public Distribution System.

Mr Venkatachalam said the government should immediately withdraw the ''amendment bill' to the Banking Regulation Act.

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