Lucknow: Bank employees staged a demonstration and took out a rally at the State Bank main branch in Lucknow on Friday ahead of a three-day nationwide strike scheduled from September 28 to 30.
The employees said they would not be deterred by what they described as pressure tactics by the Central Government and remained committed to pursuing their long-pending demands, including a five-day banking week.
Bank leaders S.K. Sangtani and Laxman Singh said the unity of employees had strengthened the movement. Sandeep Singh and V.K. Mathur alleged that bank managements were being directed to use measures such as FIRs and transfers to discourage employees from participating in the agitation. Ashok Agrawal and Sachin Kesharwani urged employees to remain alert against what they termed misinformation being circulated through social media and other platforms.
Shakil Ahmed, Rakesh Pandey and Dhananjay Singh said employees’ organisations in the Reserve Bank of India and several other departments had extended support to the movement.
Union representatives also opposed circulars issued by the managements of SBI, PNB and some other banks regarding opening branches on Sunday, September 27, alleging that the move violated provisions of bilateral agreements. Employees said they would not comply with such directives.
Media in-charge Anil Tiwari said the forum had called the three-day nationwide strike from September 28 to 30. He added that an indefinite strike would begin from October 26 if the demands were not addressed.
