Bank employees in MP go on strike

Bhopal, Sep 24 (UNI) About 40,000 employees in nearly 2,500 branches of various nationalised banks in Madhya Pradesh today joined the two-day strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU).

Mr V K Sharma, joint convenor of bank unions, said the strike had been called in support of their six-point demand including against privatisation of banks.

Some private bank employees, including that of Bank of Rajasthan, joined the strike. Rallies were taken out and meetings organised on the first day of the strike. A massive rally was taken out in the state capital.

Mr Sharma demanded that recommendations of the Raghuram Rajan Committee pertaining to privatisation be cancelled, merger of banks in public sector not be done and ban imposed on uninterrupted Foreign Direct Investment in banking sector.

He said the Banking Regulation Act Section 12 (2) should not be scraped or else foreign bank management would act wantonly and multi-national companies would be able to spread its net.

He demanded that agreement between bank agitators and the government of February 25, 2008, be implemented.

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