Strike disrupts banking services in Tripura

New Delhi [India], Feb 28 (ANI): Banking services were disrupted badly as most of the major banks remained closed on Tuesday in the Left-ruled Tripura due to a nation-wide employees' strike.

4,000 bank employees belonging to about 500 branch offices of nationalized, regional, rural and cooperative bank in Tripura participated in the 37th strike, and were seen agitating in front of their branches.

Shutters of most of the banks remained down in the state though ATM of few banks was found working.

The striking employees were protesting the "anti-people banking reforms' beside demanding for booking loan defaulters amongst big industrialists and corporate sector and to protect the Indian banks from foreign controls.

"We are mainly protesting against the Labour Reforms Amendment Bill and banking reforms that the central government has brought," said Tripura state Secretary of National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), Swapan Kr Modak.

"All of us are agitating to save the interest of the common people and the banking sector but the government has amended the Labour Laws to stop our agitation. Our main demand is that the banks should remain nationalized and government's property and not move towards privatization," added Swapan Kr Modak.

"Throughout India banks have disbursed loans to various industrialists amounting to Rs. 32 lakh crore and which has gone up by another Rs. 11.5 lakh crore. The amount has doubled this year and we want to get back this loan amount and the government should make public the names of all those who are not repaying back their loan and take legal action against them," he said.

The protesters also demanded compensation to employees for extra work done on account of demonetisation of high value currencies since November 8, 2016.

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), the umbrella organization of nine employees' unions and four officers' associations of state-owned banks had called the strike after its talks with the Indian Banks Association in New Delhi failed.