Bank Unions Go on Two-Day Nationwide Strike Against Proposed Privatisation of PSBs

About 10 lakh bank employees will participate in the strike. However, services at private banks like ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are likely to remain unaffected by the strike.

New Delhi: United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions, are on a two-day nationwide strike from March 15 to protest against the proposed privatisation of two state-owned lenders.

In the Union Budget presented last month, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the privatisation of two public sector banks (PSBs) as part of its disinvestment plan.

The government has already privatised IDBI Bank by selling its majority stake in the lender to LIC in 2019 and merged 14 public sector banks in the last four years.

The proposed strike will lead to a four-day break in banking operations as banks were already shut on March 13 (Saturday) and March 14 (Sunday), affecting services such as deposits and withdrawals at branches, loan approvals, cheque clearance etc. However, ATMs may continue to function normally.

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Conciliation meetings – before the additional chief labour commissioner on March 4, 9 and 10 – did not yield any positive result, All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) general secretary C.H. Venkatachalam told PTI in a statement.

“Hence, it has been decided to go ahead with the strike for two continuous days on 15 and 16 March 2021. About 10 lakh bank employees and officers of the banks will participate in the strike,” he claimed.

Most of the banks, including the State Bank of India (SBI), have informed their customers about the impact on functioning of branches and offices if the strike materialises.

However, services at private banks like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and IndusInd Bank are likely to remain unaffected by the strike, news reports said.

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Banks have also informed that they are taking necessary steps for the smooth functioning of bank branches and offices on the days of the proposed strike.

Members of UFBU include All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA) and Bank Employees Confederation of India (BEFI).

Others are Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO).

(With inputs from PTI)