With around 4 lakh bank employees sitting on a nationwide bank strike on September 26 and 27, most banks are likely to be open only for three days this week.
To protest against the mega-merger of public sector banks, at least four bank unions have threatened to go on a two-day strike just before the weekend.
Bank Strike Highlights:
- Banks union leaders say around 4 lakh employees will join the bank strike call on September 26-27
- It is also being febared that several ATMs might dry up in the weekend
The weekend, too, would be a holiday as banks are closed on second and fourth Saturdays every month. Sunday is also a weekly holiday. This means that most commercial banks, particularly the state-run ones, would be closed from September 26 to 29 with 25th being the last working day of the week.
All India Bank Officers’ Confederation’s (AIBOC) unit secretary R Sekaran said: “From September 26 to 27, four organisations representing four lakh officers throughout the country will go on strike. We are opposing the merger of public sector banks as it is against the general public”.
The four bank unions – All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA), Indian National Bank Officers’ Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO) – have called for a strike following the recent government announcement on consolidation of 10 public sector banks into four.
The union leaders of banks allege that the consolidation of PSU banks is neither in the interest of the country nor banks or their customers.
The strike call notice also says that their demands include issues relating to wage revision of bank officers, pension up-gradation, the introduction of a five-day week, reduction in cash transaction hours, regulated working hours for officers, etc.
Among other demands, the unions are also seeking the immediate introduction of the five-day week in full and reduction of cash transaction hours and regulated working hours. The officers’ organizations have also demanded to halt of undue interference in the existing procedure of vigilance cases by outside agencies, settlement of issues about retirees, adequate recruitment, scrapping of NPS (National Pension System), reduction of service charges for consumers and harassing of officers under specious plea of non-performance
For bank customers, the order might not get over this month as the unions have called for an indefinite strike from the second week of November if their demands are not met.
