Bank strike halts services across Gujarat
The coordinated protest disrupted cash transactions, cheque clearances and customer servicing across 3,678 branches, affecting transactions worth an estimated Rs 15,000 crore, leaving traders, businesses and industrialists held up for important work.
The strike drew participation from public sector bank employees and staff from private institutions such as Federal Bank, Karur Vysya Bank and IDBI Bank as well.
Organized by Maha Gujarat Bank Employees' Association (MGBEA), the protest was a sharp rebuke to the govt's ongoing labour reforms and economic policies.
Janak Rawal, general secretary of MGBEA, said: "This strike is not just about wage issues. It is a wider protest against policies that are hurting the working class and the public sector. Labour rights won over decades are being systematically dismantled in the name of reforms and ease of doing business."
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Key demands included halting privatisation of nationalised banks, urgent hiring, GST removal on life and health insurance, waiver of minimum balance charges and stricter recovery of bad loans.
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