Bank stir ends, warning of more

LUDHIANA: The 48-hour all India bank notice strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), in all public sector banks ended on Tuesday. The UFBU will discuss future course of action at a meeting in Mumbai on February 13. A representative from Punjab will attend the meeting.
The UFBU held a rally in front of Canara Bank, Bharat Nagar Chowk for two days to press their demands, including immediate wage revision and no banking reforms besides others.Union convener Naveen Gaur said, "This was merely a notice strike against the government to tell them we won't keep mum if our demands are not met".
The strike held up business transactions in the industrial city as almost 1, 50,000 cheques were put on hold by public sector bank officials. Industrialists rued that such strikes affect both domestic and international trade. "Such unexpected events not only lead to delay in payments but also make us look lowly", said Avtar Singh, joint secretary of the Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertaking.
Besides, the strike led to delay in salaries of laborers working in these factories, who get salary on the 10th of every month. "We couldn't pay salaries on time and it was embarrassing for us. Poor people depend on their monthly wages for everything from shelter to food", Singh said.
Bipin Gupta, owner of Venus Industries Limited, described banking as a long-term relationship. "While opting for private sector banks is an alternative but you have to understand that banking is a relationship and you can't keep changing it every other day. Banks are the backbone of commercial transactions. I admit public sector banks are growing and showing tremendous improvement but with things like these happening, the relationship can get strained".