GUWAHATI: Bank employees staged a massive demonstration on March 11 in front of the Canara Bank Circle Office at Six Mile and Punjab National Bank’s Zonal Office in Panbazar around 6:00 p.m. The protest was part of a larger agitation ahead of the nationwide bank strike scheduled for March 24 and 25.
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According to Gaurav Sharma, General Secretary of the Assam Provincial Bank Employees’ Association (APBEA), around eight lakh bank employees across the country are expected to participate in the strike. The unions are pressing for several demands, with a key focus on recruitment. Over the past decade, more than one lakh clerical and sub-staff positions have been reduced, raising concerns about workforce shortages in banks.
Other demands include stopping the outsourcing of regular jobs, absorbing temporary employees, ensuring better security for bank staff, implementing a five-day workweek, and filling vacant workman and officer director posts in public sector banks. The unions are also demanding the extension of the old pension scheme to all employees currently under the National Pension System (NPS).
With the strike date approaching, banking services across the nation are likely to be impacted if the issues remain unresolved.
