By ARUN PRATAP SINGH
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 11 Sep: Nationalised banks across Uttarakhand remained closed today following a one-day strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions to press for their six-point charter of demands. The strike brought the banking operations to a standstill, leaving the customers inconvenienced as transactions, deposits, withdrawals and other services were disrupted. Employees staged demonstrations outside branches, raising slogans against the government and demanding immediate redressal of their grievances.
In Dehradun, nearly four thousand employees joined the protest at Astley Hall Chowk outside the Central Bank. They claimed that resorting to strikes is not their preferred path, but the long delay in addressing their demands has compelled them to take to the streets. The employees reiterated their call for the introduction of five-day banking, resolution of the pending service-related issues and withdrawal of the performance-linked incentive scheme. Inder Rawat, organising general secretary of the United Forum of Bank Unions, said the demand for five-day banking has been pending since 2012. He recalled that in 2015 the government had agreed to grant holidays on two Saturdays each month and had assured that all the Saturdays would eventually be declared holidays, but the assurance has not been fulfilled.
Similar protests were held in Kotdwar, Nainital, Rudrapur and Almora, where employees gathered outside major branches and raised slogans against the central government. In Nainital, most of the branches remained closed, forcing customers to rely on ATMs. Union leaders including Praveen Sah highlighted the injustice of granting incentives only to senior executives while excluding lower-level staff. He said that Friday’s strike alone had affected transactions worth nearly Rs 125 crores in the town. In Rudrapur, employees marched through the city carrying banners and placards, demanding implementation of the 11th and 12th bipartite agreements, pension updation and restoration of the old pension scheme.
Union leaders today warned that, if demands are not met, a three-day strike will be held from 28 to 30 September, followed by an indefinite strike from the second week of October. They said the government must act swiftly to ensure justice for bank employees and to prevent further disruption of banking services. With today’s strike coinciding with the weekend holidays, banks will remain closed for three consecutive days, and services are expected to resume only on Monday.
