Bank pensioners’ hunger strike in Bengaluru

A large number of retired bank officers, under the banner of the Coordination of Bank Pensioners and Retirees Organisations (CBPRO), held a day-long hunger strike in Bengaluru on Saturday, demanding long-pending pension revisions.

Their key demands included the implementation of a pension revision that had been overdue since 1993, restoration of the old pension scheme, improved health insurance, and inclusion of special pay in pension calculations. They also highlighted anomalies in the State Bank of India’s pension structure, particularly for retirees who were denied a 50% pension after March 1999.

Com. Ravi Kumar G.S. of AIBOC inaugurated the protest and extended full support to the retirees. Senior leaders, including K.V. Acharya, A.N. Krishnamurthy, G.D. Nadaf, and Gopinath Rao, participated. The protesters emphasised the retirees’ rightful claim to dignity and justice.