Lucknow: Employees of State Bank of India staged a protest and candle march outside the bank’s main branch in Lucknow on Monday as part of a nationwide agitation over their 16-point charter of demands.
The demonstration was led by union General Secretary D.K. Singh ahead of the proposed nationwide strike scheduled for May 25 and 26.
During the protest, employees raised slogans against the bank management, demanding immediate action on issues including recruitment of messengers and armed guards, appointment of adequate staff, an end to outsourcing in permanent positions, improvements in medical reimbursement schemes, and resolution of pension-related anomalies.
Protesters shouted slogans such as “Bank Management Hai-Hai,” “Fulfil Our Demands,” and “Stop Bonded Labour,” expressing strong resentment against the bank administration.
Addressing the gathering, D.K. Singh said employees had been struggling for a long time to secure better working conditions and staff welfare measures. He warned that the bank management would be directly responsible for any inconvenience faced by customers due to the proposed strike.
Following the demonstration, employees carried out a candle march beginning from the SBI main branch gate. The march passed through K.D. Babu Singh Stadium main gate, the District Magistrate’s office, Hindi Sansthan, and the SBI principal office before concluding back at the main branch.
The march was coordinated under the supervision of Ashutosh Verma, Brijesh Tiwari, Shiv Kumar, R.P. Singh, Avadhesh Singh, Tarkeshwar Chauhan, Akash Sharma, Rakesh Kumar, Ankur Agrawal, Amit Singh, and Pankaj Patel, among others.
Media in-charge Anil Tiwari stated that if talks with the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner fail to produce a resolution, SBI employees across the country would proceed with the nationwide strike on May 25 and 26.
