Mumbai: Banking services hit in Maharashtra due to trade unions' strike

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Banking services across Maharashtra were hit on Wednesday as nearly 40,000 bank employees, including 10,000 officers, joined the day-long nationwide strike called by 10 major trade unions on Wednesday against the Centre's "anti-people" policies.

The RBI's workmen staff from its various offices, including from the central office in Mumbai, also went on strike on Wednesday, a union leader said. Port and airport services, however, remained normal.

"Bank employees while endorsing the demands put forth by the central trade unions are focusing on recruitment, early wage settlement, pension updation, and old pension scheme to newly joined employees," the All India Banks Employees' Association said.

Public sector banks, old generation private banks and a few foreign banks joined the Wednesday strike, it said. Ten central trade unions had claimed the participation of around 25 crore people in the nationwide strike called to protest against the union government's labour reforms, FDI, disinvestment, corporatisation, and privatisation policies.

They are pressing for a 12-point charter of demands of the working class relating to minimum wage and social security, among others. Banks employees also protested against the merger of state-run banks and early wage settlement and recruitment. The strike has been called by six major bank unions including AIBEA, AIBOA, BEFI, INBOC, and INBEF, representing the majority of bank employees.

Operations at both the ports in the country's financial capital were normal despite the strike, officials said.
A spokesperson for JNPT, the country's largest container port which handles over half of India's total throughput, said operations were unaffected by the strike across all its terminals.

A senior official at Mumbai Port Trust, one of the oldest facilities in the country, also said that operations were smooth in the port from a cargo handling perspective. MbPT has over 6,500 employees on its rolls and another 3,000 contractual staff, the official said, adding that participation in the strike call was negligible.

Services at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport were also normal and there was no impact of the strike on its flight operations, an airport official said.

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