Striking Unions Say Labour Policies Hurting Economy, Citizens

They also said these policies will weaken public sector institutions, hurt the interests of customers and lead to growing unemployment.

Employees of all PSBs, except State Bank of India (SBI), along with those of some private sector and foreign and cooperative banks, regional rural banks (RRBs), government-owned insurance companies like the LIC and the GIC, also participated in the strike, according to a press statement by C H Venkatachalam, general secretary of the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA).

“The strike was to protest the anti-people economic policies and anti-worker labour policies of the central government,” said Venkatachalam. Talking to The Secretariat, he said these policies have resulted in some Indians growing rich, while the majority are facing the brunt of high inflation and high GST. “Wages of employees are coming down, working hours are rising, but the profit of corporates is shooting up,” he claimed.

Ashok Punjabi, former national general secretary of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), said the four new labour codes that are expected to subsume all 34 of India's labour laws are one-sided and favour employers to snatch all workers' rights. 

'Against National Interest'

Elaborating on how the Centre's policies are against the national interest and are weakening public sector institutions, Janak Rawal, general secretary of Mahagujarat Bank Employees Association (MGBEA), said, “Recruitment in government institutions is highly inadequate, leading to a deficiency in services and youth not getting jobs. These are intended to diminish the reputation of government-owned institutions among the customers to benefit private players."

He also demanded the abolition of abnormal banking rules, such as those enforcing a minimum balance, and charges for services like updating cheque books. He said the prime motive behind the establishment of PSBs is to serve customers, alleging that while banks act tough while recovering loans from average citizens, the norms are extremely relaxed for corporates.

“Haircuts, and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), are fancy names for waiving corporate loans. In contrast, if instalments are not paid on time, banks seize the property of a common man or small entrepreneur who has taken a loan to meet his working capital needs. We oppose such double standards,” he said. 

H I Bhatt, the national joint secretary of the All India Insurance Employees Association (AIIEA), claimed that efforts to privatise the sector are unnecessary and against the interests of the people. “In the insurance sector, 74 per cent of foreign direct investments (FDIs) are allowed, but actual FDI is only 32 per cent. So why should we raise it to 100 per cent? The move will channel the savings of Indian households to foreign MNCs,” he said.

Opposing the move of the insurance watchdog — the Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDA) — to allow insurance agents to work simultaneously for three firms, he said that without making any effort, private companies will benefit from all these agents who were all trained by the LIC.