RBI employees to join Sep 2 industrial strike

Kolkata, Aug 29 (PTI) Reserve Bank of India workers andemployees have decided to join the September 2 nationwideday-long strike called by central trade unions. All India Reserve Bank Employees’ Association (AIRBEA) andAll India Reserve Bank Workers’ Federation in a jointstatement said: "Reserve Bank employees all over the countrywill participate in September 2 industrial strike in supportof the demands of the country’s working class." On March 30, central trade unions including INTUC, AITUC,HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, among others, had given a call for aday-long nationwide strike on September 2 to protest againstthe Modi government’s "unilateral labour reforms andanti-worker policies". Nearly 5 lakh other bank union workers and officers areset to join the strike. AIRBEA general secretary Samir Ghosh said the strike willbe a total success as RBI officers are in moral support forthe cause and are likely to abstain from work. Ghosh also highlighted several demands and concerns ofRBI as a reason for joining the strike. "Many important works of RBI have been outsourced oreliminated like public debt management. RBI’s powers to decidecountry’s monetary policy, which was its exclusive preservesince inception is being abrogated by the mechanism of aMonetary Policy Committee where government will hold sway," hesaid. In the name of recapitalisation of banks suffering fromhuge bad debt to corporates, government plans to drain out RBIReserve Fund of Rs 2 lakh crore overriding RBI objections andcrippling RBI financially, he claimed. PTI BSM NNANU