Banks stay shut, but it was life as usual on bandh day in Karnataka

Bank unions oppose privatisation of nationalised banks

The Bharat bandh called by trade unions hardly made an impact in Karnataka, barring the banking sector. Shops and establishments remained open and public transport plied as usual.

Vasanth Rai, president of Karnataka Pradesh Bank Employees’ Federation, the State unit of the country’s largest bank employees’ union, the All-India Bank Employees’ Association, said that the strike was called not just for bank employees, but also for the entire public.

“We are totally against the Government’s plan for the privatisation of nationalised banks. Such a move will lead to undue job losses and a large population, employees, their families and dependents, will suffer,’‘ he cautioned.

Another demand of bank employees was to increase the interest on deposits, which is too low currently. “A sharp decline in interest rates has been impacting the depositors adversely, this will get corrected only when the Government stops mismanaging the affairs of banks in the country,’‘ Mr. Rai added.

However, many industry representatives opposed the bandh call. “Bankers should not be allowed to go on strike in critical times, especially during the closure of the financial year,’‘ said D.R. Subramanyam, Managing Director at SLN Technologies, and member of CII Karnataka State Council.

Echoing similar sentiments, Sajjan Raj Mehta, a trade activist said, during the closure of the fiscal, when everybody was rushing for payment at the last moment, it is unfair for banks to go on strike.

However, Gilbert Millicent Nathan, Associate Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Huawei Technologies, was of the opinion that a majority of the common man was not affected by these strikes and bandhs as the country’s digital transaction was on the rise and most people stopped making physical visits to the bank branches.’‘