ISLAMABAD, March 14: Habib Bank (HBL) employees on Tuesday observed a countrywide token strike against retrenchment of 2,300 employees. “Workers in 1,400 HBL branches across the country observed a token strike to express solidarity with those poor guards, drivers and maintenance staff who were retrenched by the management on Friday against rules,” HBL Employees Federation secretary-general Mohammad Ali Memon told Dawn.

He said the strike would be observed throughout the country from 9am to 10am daily until next weekend and added that the workers would change their strategy if the management did not accept their charter of demands.

The workers had presented the charter of demands to the management in December.

Mr Memon said that employees would remain peaceful during the strike.

The National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) on Saturday stayed retrenchments.

The stay was granted by NIRC member Mohammad Shabbir Jamal on a petition filed by the employees’ federation against the bank’s president.