Bank Employees Defer Strike in Maharashtra Over 'Ladki Bahin' Scheme Security

Mumbai, Oct 30 (PTI) Bank employees on Wednesday deferred an earlier call to strike work on November 16 in Maharashtra after the state government assured to enhance security for employees working on the 'Ladki Bahin' scheme.

The bank employees had threatened to go on strike because of the challenges in the implementation of the ambitious scheme launched ahead of the state elections.

"The Maharashtra Government will direct District Collectors and Police Commissioners to prioritise the security of bank employees, particularly in relation to the Ladki Bahin scheme rollout," a statement from the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) said.

The scheme aims to provide a cash transfer of Rs 1,500 to every eligible woman, and there are huge crowds in the bank branches to enrol in the scheme.

Bank unions met senior officials of the Women and Child Welfare Department on Tuesday after the strike call in the financial capital on October 25.

At the meeting, it was also decided to advise banks to enhance security by engaging outsourced guards for an initial period of three months, the UFBU statement said.

To reduce branch congestion, banks will be advised to utilise banking correspondents for Aadhar linking, KYC purposes and account opening, it added.

A joint review meeting will be held after Diwali to assess the implementation of these measures, it said.

"Since the government has shown a positive approach in addressing the concerns of bank employees, we have decided to temporarily keep on hold further agitation programmes," Devidas Tuljapurkar, convener of UFBU Maharashtra, said.