The strike has been called by nine unions under the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) banner. All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary CH Venkatachalam has claimed 10 lakh bankers to join the strike.
Bankers across the country will be on strike on Monday and Tuesday against the proposal of privatization of the two banks. Banking will be affected due to the bank being closed for two days. The strike will affect services such as withdrawing and depositing money in bank branches, check clearance and loan clearances.
Several state-run banks, including State Bank of India and Canara Bank, have already informed their customers that the strike on Monday and Tuesday could affect the functioning of their offices and branches. Despite this, banks have said that on the day of the proposed strike, necessary steps are being taken for better functioning in banks and branches.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the budget that the government has decided to privatize two public sector banks and one insurance company this year. The government had earlier sold most of its stake in IDBI Bank to Life Insurance Corporation of India. In the last four years, 14 public sector banks have been merged.
Venkatachalam said the meeting with the Chief Labor Commissioner on March 4, 9 and 10 did not yield any positive results. Therefore, it has been decided to strike for two consecutive days on 15 and 16 March. About 10 lakh employees and officers of banks will participate in it.
The strike included All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) in the United Front and Bank Unions (UFBU), 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).
ATM will work during strike
Banks’ ATMs will continue to operate during the strike. Banks were closed on Saturdays and Sundays also due to holidays. Due to this, services will be affected more.
Insurance workers will be on strike on 17-18
All the unions of the four public sector general insurance companies have also announced a strike on 17 March. All the LIC unions will stop work on 18 March.
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