Banking services take a hit as 9 lakh employees go on two-day nationwide strike from today
Most of the banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), have already cautioned their customers about the strike's possible impact on banking operations like cheque clearance and fund transfer.
FollowClose to 9 lakh employees of several state-owned banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Central Bank of India, will go on a two-day nationwide strike starting today. The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which is an umbrella body of 9 bank unions, including the All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) has called a two-day bank strike starting today to protest the government's decision to privatise two public sector lenders.
Most of the banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), have already cautioned their customers about the strike's possible impact on banking operations like cheque clearance and fund transfer.
SBI, in an exchange filing, had said, “We have been advised by the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) that United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has served a notice of strike, informing that the members of the constituent Unions of UFBU viz. AIBEA, AIBOC, NCBE, AIBOA, BEFI, INBEF and INBOC propose to go on a nationwide bank strike on 16th & 17th December, 2021 in support of their demands. We advise that while the bank has made necessary arrangements to ensure normal functioning in its branches and offices on the days of strike, it is likely that work in our bank may be impacted by the strike.”
The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu has extended support to the two-day nationwide strike called. Party general secretary and State Minister Durai Murugan wished the strike success and announced his party’s “total support” to the protest.
Meanwhile, stating that the strike is not in the interest of customers and investors, SBI, Canara Bank and UCO Bank, among others, urged their employees to reconsider their decision to go on strike. "Furthermore, considering the ongoing pandemic situation, resorting to a strike will cause great inconvenience to the stakeholders," SBI said in a tweet.
The government has decided to introduce the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 during the ongoing Winter Session of the Parliament. The bill aims to privatise public sector banks.
