2-day nationwide bank strike from today

By KalingaTV Bureau On Dec 16, 2021 0

bank strike — Representational Image: Asianet Suvarna News

New Delhi: The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has called for a two-day strike to protest against the Centre’s plan to privatize public sector banks. UFBU is an umbrella organization of bank unions. Reportedly, the two days bank strike will be on December 16 (today) and December 17 (tomorrow).

The strike has been called to protest due to the proposed privatization of banks by introducing the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021. This bill will reportedly bring down the minimum government holding in the PSBs from 51% to 26%.

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

India’s largest public sector bank, the State Bank of India (SBI) stated in a stock exchange report that the normal functioning of the bank, such as SBI branches, ATM services, is likely to be impacted by the two-day 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).

Bank unions believe that the move to privatize public sector banks will hit the Indian economy’s priority sectors as well as credit flow to self-help groups and the economy of rural areas.

Other associations are the Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC), National Organization of Bank Workers (NOBW), and National Organization of Bank Officers (NOBO).

It is to be noted that the State Bank of India (SBI) had already warned customers about the nationwide strike’s possible impact on banking operations such as cheque clearance and fund transfer. “Furthermore, considering the ongoing pandemic situation, resorting to a strike will cause great inconvenience to the stakeholders,” SBI further said in a tweet.