Jamshedpur: The joint trade union called 24 hours bandh paralysed banking, postal and insurance services and left the small scale industry sector struggling to meet production schedule.
Operations of state-owned banks across the city were badly affected following a 24-hour long nationwide bandh to protest against price rise and other issues such as disinvestment of public sector, retrenchment and entry of foreign capital in the retail market.
Work in all most all the public sector�s banks and insurance offices remained shut in favour of the demands. In some places employees staged demonstration near the bank premises and raised slogans in favour of their demands.
While it was complete shutdown of banking, postal and insurance sectors leading to losses of crores the industrial units in the Adityapur Industrial Area weathered the bandh call by remaining open their units but with less than normal attendance.
Daylong nationwide strike call by 10 trade unions made loss to the tune of nearly Rs 400 crore.
Though trade union sponsored strike call (except BMS backed unions) did not have much impact in the industrial sector either in the ancillary hub of Adityapur and Gamharia in adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan or in steel city as both large and small scale industries functioned normally except a a few number of SSI units shutting down due to labour strike.
General secretary of Adityapur Small Industries Association (ASIA), Santosh Khaitan said that only 50-odd small scale units were reported to be shut-down in the Adityapur-Gamharia belt due to the trade union strike with workers not reporting to work.
The Jamshedpur division of Life Insurance Corporation of India Limited which looks after functioning of LIC units in East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharsawan, Ranchi, Garhwa, Daltonganj and Gumla witnessed complete shutdown of 20 branches and 10 satellite branches under its jurisdiction.
Jamshedpur divisional Insurance Employees Association official Rakesh Prasad said that the division suffered losses to the tune of Rs 1.5 crore as almost all the class III and IV employees joined in the one day stir.
The bank union leaders blamed the Union government for following what they called �anti-employee� policies. They said that the public sector banks are capable enough to compete with the private banks but still the government is favouring the disinvestment.
They said that the bank employees should get another option for pension schemes.
�The strike should serve as a warning to the Central Government that has taken up certain policy decisions without assessing their negative impact on the working class. Privatisation should be immediately dropped to save the future,� said Subodh Sen senior functionary of AIBEA.
He alleged that conscious efforts are being made to weaken public banking system to pave the way for multi-national companies to carry on their businesses smoothly without being mired in labour laws. BSNL units suffered a loss of Rs 2 crore with 1000 odd employees joining the stir and the name of banking sector reforms, he said, the government is attempting to reduce their share of equity capital in the public sector banks, thereby, increasing the hold of private capital in these banks.
The government is also pursuing their policy of consolidation and merger of public sector banks, which are totally unwarranted and would in no way benefit in strengthening banks, he said.
In some places employees staged demonstration near the bank premises and raised slogans in favour of their demands.
�The strike should serve as a warning to the Central Government that has taken up certain policy decisions without assessing their negative impact on the working class.
Privatisation should be immediately dropped to save the future and employees should be given a chance to opt for pension schemes,� said another union leader.
He alleged that conscious efforts are being made to weaken public banking system to pave the way for multi-national companies to carry on their businesses smoothly without being mired in labour laws.
