Customers of public sector and regional rural banks are likely to experience difficulties in availing themselves of routine services at bank branches during the two-day nationwide strike beginning Tuesday morning.
The chances of getting their work done, be it depositing money, withdrawing cash or getting cheques cleared, looks remote as two influential associations of bank employees will be part of the strike called by central trade unions. Little work is possible without clerical staff. The cash counters will not function, said P. Venkataramaiah, general secretary for the Telangana unit of Bank Employees’ Federation of India (BEFI). Around 9,500 members of the federation will be part of the strike, he added. Andhra Bank and a few other banks, in regulatory filings to stock exchange, on Monday said functioning of the branches would be affected in view of the strike.
Besides those of BEFI, the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) members will also participate in the strike. Banking apart, the strike called by the trade unions would involve employees several other public sector organisations, including insurance, transport and telecom corporations.
Many political parties and their labour wings have extended support to the strike, which has been called in support of various demands, including keeping price rise under check, increasing minimum wages to ₹18,000 a month, opposing merger of banks and recovering loans from wilful defaulters.
Mr. Venkataramaiah said there are a good number of daily wagers in the public sector banks as recruitment of such support staff has not happened for some time now, especially in banks recommended for prompt corrective action following an increase in their bad loans. One of the demands of the strike is for banks and insurance companies to fill up vacancies.
The strike, which the BEFI leader said is intended to make the government sensitive to the issues, comes close on the heels of the December 21 and 26 strikes by All India Bank Officers’ Confederation and United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) respectively.
