Bank transactions went dead for an entire day in public sector and old private banks across Karnataka as officers and workmen struck work in a country-wide protest on Wednesday.
UFBU’s state convener H.Vasanth Rai said, “There was absolutely no clearance today. But we ensured that our strike caused minimum inconvenience to our customers. All ATMs were kept full the previous day” so as not to affect people’s cash requirements.
Some 80,000 employees participated in the strike called by UFBU or the United Federation of Bank Unions. In Bengaluru, leaders of nine UFBU-affiliated unions and around 2,000 striking members gathered at the State Bank of Mysore premises on K.G. Road to press managements for 23 per cent wage increase.
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The strike hit work at hundreds of branches of around 25 banks including the “old generation” private banks such as ING Vysya, Karnataka Bank, South Indian Bank, Federal Bank and HSBC.
UFBU has notified a second phase of agitation with a call for region-wise serial strike from December 2 to 5. Banks in the South are to go on protest on December 2.
Mr. Rai said the unions hoped that the managements body, the Indian Banks’ Association, would relent from its offer of 11 per cent hike. If the matter was not resolved, the next phase of unions’ agitation in December, he said, would have a far bigger impact on cheque clearances and banking operations.
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