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In a statement, Left Front chairman Biman Bose said, “The Left Front government supports the cause of the bank employees.”
The employees’ unions demanded that the banking sector reforms and consolidation and mergers of public sector banks be halted. A group of agitators today protested in front of a branch of State of Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur on N S Road in central Kolkata.
“We have called the strike in national interest. All the political parties, including the Left Front and Trinamool, have supported us. About four lakh bank employees under the banner of All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) and All India Bank Officers Association (AIBOA) have observed the strike after a conciliation meeting with the management failed,” said Rajen Nagar, all India president of AIBEA.
“We have been protesting against banking sector reforms since 1993. We will continue observing strikes nationwide if our demands are not accepted by the government. We have allowed the ATMs to open after 6 pm,” said Nagar.
Meanwhile, several ATMs in the city ran out of cash today. Shyamlal Karmakar, general secretary of State Bank of India Staff Association, however, said, “We have not directly participated in the strike, but have lent moral support to it.”
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