Description
Aakar Books Struggling For Nation Building A Brief History Of All India Bank OfficerS Confederation-Hardbound by Sarika Chaudhary Archana Prasad
The book is a brief account of the histor yof the All India Bank Officers' Confederation, India's largest bank officers' union. It outlines the strategies and organisational forms that were used to develop a militant trade unoion of white collar workers, who largely belong to the managerial and supervisory class. The documentation of the struggles of the association present an illustration about the ways in which a working class consciousness can be developed among the so called 'middle class' wokers. The book shows that the development of such a consciousness is important not only for the bank officers themselves, but also for other working class movements that have received support from the bank officers in their fight for their legitimate rights. The second aspect brought out by this book is regarding the role of the bank officers in advocating models of inclusive banking and defending public sector banks against disinvestment. In this sense the struggles of the bank officers are not only for the betterment of their own working conditions, but also for the establishment of an egalitarian public banking system. Hence the Confederation forms an important part of the larger fight against exclusionary neo-liberal economic policies. From this perspective, the history recounted here provides important lessons for the ways in which workers of all classes can unite together against corporate capital.