Banking operations affected partially due to strike

Chennai, 07-09-2010: A lone security officer guarding a nationalised bank in Chennai as the employees refrained from work in order to join the strike called by the All India Bank Employees association on September 07, 2010. Photo:S_R_Raghunathan

Banking operations have been partially affected as employees of left-leaning unions went on day-long strike on Tuesday to protest against the disinvestment policy of the government and the price rise.

About 5 lakh members of the All-India Banks Employees’ Association (AIBEA) are supporting the nation-wide strike call given by various trade unions, claimed AIBEA General Secretary C.H. Venkatachalam.

As many as eight central trade unions, including CITU, have announced a nation-wide strike against major issues like price rise, the disinvestment policy of the government and violation of labour laws.

Venkatachalam said the strike call is against banking sector reforms and mergers of public sector banks, among other issues.

However, State Bank of India officers and employees unions are not part of the strike.

The other union who are part of the strike is Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) which has a membership of about 1 lakh employees.

Banking services are affected in areas where these unions have stronghold including West Bengal and Kerala.

Many banks have already informed their customers in advance about strike, in which case normal functioning of its branches or offices may be affected.