Easeful unrest

Mixing pleasure and work may be dangerous, but the mingling of rest with ‘unrest’ continues unabated in the public sector. This time, it’s the bankers who go on a two-day strike from February 25, which is a Monday, giving them a three-day weekend. Last year, bankers had gone on strike over pensions. Now, it’s the prospect of State Bank of India merging with its associate banks and their demand for an early wage revision (an issue on which they struck work last month as well). Incidentally, after a spate of strikes timed to coincide with weekends in the past two years, leaders of the Left unions had decided to avoid such strikes in order to lessen the inconveniences to the public. Clearly, the thought has been given a rest.