Should Bank Employees Participate in Strike Tomorrow?

GOVT SHOULD CONSIDER
        National Strike Day
IN PLACE OF GENERAL STRIKE


I don't know, why Bank employees are going to participate in general strike of 8th Jan.2020!

What are their issues?   
I don't know what's the wisdom of Bank employees to ride on CPI/CPM dead horses?

If at all, they have such generosity and plenty of wealth, they should donate to PM National Relief Funds and if PM of India is so hateful person and intolerable, let it be donated to Pakistan a dying military state which kills Indian soldiers on border. In my opinion, we have every freedom to disagree with State decisions, because it's democratic state, but where it looks  'prudent' if bank men cut their own throat?

Thank God, AIBOC, NCBE others distanced from this general strike and have just extended impotent support, called moral support, means naitik samarthan.

Please tolerate me to excoriate these thick skin socialized bandits:

In Indian context, I take this general strike of so-called Central Trade Unions as done for their sadistic pleasure. But, not else, nothing beyond! 

The Central Trade Unions resort to, annually, a get together at identified places across the country. In my long follow up, I never came across an issue, which these Unions had as their core issue concerning organized or unorganized labour comnunities or waged relentless struggles therefor or achieved.

Whatever, achievements we find in organized sector, that's through trade specific Unions. In organized sector, whatever achievements are made that's through political expediencies. These Central Trade Unions just make a mention of general issues, most of them imaginary, frightening & provocative, with a view to group up innocent working fraternity and make them their fodder. It's with a view to generate general rhetorical reaction, that fades off, with the dispensed crowd!

Bank employees are roped around and dragged to these events, while hardly they have had ever any issue or purpose to gain from such events. It's just useless and futile exercise on bank men part to struck work for the day, lose wages.

Does it appeal to logics and reasonings of white colored bank men to resort to such actions just to please a political class, who are dead and buried across the world.

Indian Trade Unions still live in primitive world, had suffered countless defeats and drawbacks, ruined & bruised, which they don't realize due to their high headedness. World's landscape has changed and transformed, but TUs are not prepared to share this. Bank men! Alas, say themselves as vanguard of trade union movement, but now it's leaders make stupid endeavors.

Banking has moved from manual to high tech IT, but leaders could not reason out or visualise the need to change. Still they resort to strike actions, because they find no alternate strategy, where as users- society, trade& businesses- have established alternate remedy to ward off strike menace. They are totally incompetent lot, unfit to represent the interest of most important stakeholder of industry, i.e. workmen & officers. I think, how an intelligent class of Bankers can be so low, aloof and stupid of pragmatism of world matrix.

Other side, so far, I never came across any industrial actions in Banking which was ever joined by any 'other' trade Unions. Leave else, even we don't join among ourselves. Not only this, we pull the leg of one in action. Not only this, our Unions rope management to foil the game plan of other Union (s). When we are not one under one roof, how we can expect workers of the world coming to our rescue? Even financial sector Unions don't come to our help. Bank men fight, strike and settle terms, LIC unions reap the fruits. Last time LIC secured 2.5% more than Banks, of course without any fight or collateral damages (bank men collateral damages I don't was to discuss here).

Frankly speaking, 'fraternal' support is a misconceived proposition. 'Moral' support is 'impotent' support. They just debonair textures. Bank employees, under auspices of AIBEA went on strike in solidarity of Railwaymen strike in 1970s, which was brutally crushed by then PM Indira Gandhi. George Fernandez was leading the strike. Later he was arrested by Indira Gandhi Govt under infamous Dynamite case. George won Parliamentary election after Emergency by contesting from Jail. Except, this AIBEA solidarity strike for striking rail men, we find no any other reference of even AIBEA jumping in fray on any other occasion in any other industrial actions.

Banks were nationalized and nationalization Act was declared void by Hon'ble Supreme Court. It was a very crucial time, and a turning point of Banking industry from private to public ownerships, but none of the left, right or Center Trade Unions dared to join one day strike call of AIBEA against said SC judgement. Hon'ble SC judgement was against Congress government decision in nationalization matter, but even INTUC, Congress central trade union, refrained from joining AIBEA strike action. This strike was no less important. It was against Hon'ble Supreme Court judgement, take it as an action that amounted to contempt of SC.

Have any of you ever heard such daring and dashing protest direct action against SC judgement? Never in history!
Never in country a protest strike denouncing Supreme Court decision.

The AIBEA of that day and the AIBEA of today, sea difference, just dash your head to wall!. That day AIBEA leaders were in dreadful actions and today, it's top leader is dancing with Bihari bugger and chanting Aazadi le ke rahengen. What's the aazadi? He is slave of vested interests, but he wants aazadi. At all if he wants aazadi, why should he not take sanyaas & Free bank men from his yoke?

Earlier, I saw AIBEA leaders of Com. Parwana, Com. Prabhat Kar, Com. D.P. Chadha, Com Tarakeshwar Chakravarti stature taking pragmatic stand in such general strikes. In case Bank men wage disputes, pension dispute etc were going on, AIBEA just distanced itself from such actions. These leaders held the issues of bank men as supreme than general strike.

The vision of AIBEA has changed in last 2 decades. It's pre-2000 vision is totally replaced. Now, bank men hardly strike for their demands or issues. Leaders settle issues by surrender of earned rights . Hardly, they exert any pressure to extract best possible, rather succumbe to and lay down to accept worst possible. Now, if they resort to strike, take it for sure, they do it to settle self vengeance, egoes, score supremacists & to establish hegimies, or political expediencies to please their political mentors.

 Such strike actions have nothing to do with the interest of banking industry or it's fraternity. In recent past, officers' 2 days strike was just for ego clashes. Assess the damages it caused and the way credibility of organization jeopardized. See, how one worked against other to bring one down. See, the situations that culminated into knee walk and sparrow like flee of top leaders of AIBOC from pilar to post to manage post strike situation. I know, it will hurt many, but one needs to take very impartial and pragmatic view of a situation where all 7 out of 9 were in IBA lap and 2 were encircled in chakravyooh and literally killed.

Now, ensuing 8th Jan. 2020 general strike is for political pleasure. Thank God, some of the banking Unions have give impotent support, while some are there to conceive. None knows, when delivery will come or what will be delivered! In one word, such strikes have become just ritual. Strike never conceived or delivered any time. That's why I say it for sadistic pleasure. Moral support, we say it impotent support, as it cause no effect on strike, just smile on lips and waving the hands.

There is better way to make 'strike day' more productive to working class and nation without any hurt to strikers or public or nation. Better, they demand of govt to declare a national holiday in the name of National  Strike Day. And, I say, if these Unions don't demand it, let the government declare on it's own a day national holiday in the name of General Strike. Atleast, this will save millions rupees of millions people. Avoid wastage of time &  money of poor workers across the country. Such strikes neither conceive not delivers. Such strikes just harm workers as they lose their day wage. Such strikes cause inconvenience to public, trade and commerce. Doesn't it? Sheer madness, sinister indeed.

(J. N. Shukla)
Nation Convenor,
Forum of Bank Pensioner Activists
Prayagraj
7.1.2020
9559748834