Trade Unions Call For Bharat Bandh On March 28 & 29 - Here Are Key Services Expected To Be Hit

Banking services may be disrupted on Monday and Tuesday.

New Delhi: A combined forum of central trade unions has declared a Bharat Bandh on March 28 and 29, and bank employees are intending to join the protest against government policies that impact workers, farmers, and people. As a result, banking services may be disrupted on Monday and Tuesday.

The All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) said that it will participate in the countrywide general strike to oppose growing unemployment, lower pay, privatisation of public sector banks, and the Banking Laws Amendment Bill 2021, among other problems.

“The Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions have to take the frontline and decisive role to build towering resistance to this destructive and disastrous corporate-driven regime,” AIBEA statement reads.

The Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) and the All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA) are among the central unions that have joined the protest. The State Bank of India (SBI) has issued a similar notification, stating that due to the bank strike, its services may be affected on the days specified.

 “We advise that while the bank has made necessary arrangements to ensure normal functioning in its branches and offices on the days of strike, it is likely that work in our bank may be impacted to a limited extent, by the strike,” SBI statement reads. 

Insurance sector unions, like the banking sector, have expressed their support for the Bandh.

According to the statement from Trade Unions, unions in the railroads and defence sectors would mobilise in support of the strike in tens of thousands of locations. The trade union further stated that despite the approaching danger of ESMA (Essential Services Maintenance Act) in Haryana and Chandigarh, highways, transportation employees, and power workers had opted to join the strike. When ESMA is triggered, any strike is prohibited.

Despite demands from several trade unions for a 48-hour countrywide strike/bandh on March 28 and 29, all West Bengal state government offices would stay open and employees will report to work on those days.