Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Bank strike

The one-day bank strike called by the employees of public sector banks on Friday to protest against the merger of associate banks with the State Bank of India, outsourcing of banking operations and over wage-related issues has been criticised by many as unwarranted. On all issues except merger, bank employees have been fighting for a long time. Demands such as one more option of pension, restoration of appointments on compassionate grounds, lifting of the virtual freeze on recruitment, and early settlement of wage revision are bread-and-butter issues. It is unfortunate to find bank employees being included among the well-taken-care-of sections. They are under perpetual pressure with all the inherent risks associated with banking, which have been compounded by mindless harping on technology.

J. Anantha Padmanabhan,

Srirangam

The contention of the progressive trade unions has been that the neo-liberal policies pursued by successive governments have not benefited the poor. The strike call was issued only to demand a halt to such policies. The inconvenience caused to the people should look smaller when compared with the disaster latent in the course being followed by the powers-that-be.

S.V. Venugopalan,

Chennai

The strike was well-planned, meant to inflict maximum harassment. If it was inevitable, the bank employees could have resorted to it some time midweek instead of a day before the Republic Day, followed by a Sunday. An elected government has the right to implement any policy that it feels is good for the people. Bank employees oppose mergers but strike work together so that the people are put to maximum difficulty. This is nothing but terrorising the public and the government.

M. Murugan,

Sullurpet

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