As employees of various public sector banks have gone on strike today (March 15), over the Centre’s decision to privatize two state-owned lenders, banking operations including cheque clearance across the country got affected. UFBU, an umbrella body of nine unions, had given a strike call for March 15 and 16 and claimed that about 10 lakh bank employees and officers of the banks will participate in the strike. Banks were already closed on March 13 (second Saturday) and March 14 (Sunday).

According to All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) general secretary CH Venkatachalam, services at branch level; cheque clearance; and government transactions have been affected. Besides, money markets and stock markets are also going to face problems as payments would be impacted, he said, news agency. Banking services such as deposits and withdrawal at branches, cheque clearance and loan approvals would be affected till March 16 due to the strike. However, ATMs are likely to remain functional.

Bank of Maharashtra has already warned its customers about the same. “If the strike materialises, the normal functioning of the bank’s branches/offices is likely to be affected. The bank is taking all necessary steps to minimize the impact of the strike so as to provide the normal banking services to its customers,” an official Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) release read.

Which services will be hit by bank strike on March 15 and 16?

Services such as deposits and withdrawals at bank branches, cheque clearance and loan approvals are likely to be affected due to this strike. ATMs may, however, continue to function normally.

Banks have assured their customers they are taking all necessary steps to ensure the smooth running of bank offices and branches on the days of the proposed two-day bank strike. In a sigh of relief for customers, services at private banks like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and IndusInd Bank are likely to remain unaffected by the strike.

Who has called the nationwide bank strike?

The United Forum of Bank Union (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank unions, has called for a two-day nationwide strike on March 15 and 16 against the privatisation of Public Sector Banks and retrograde banking reforms.

Over 10 lakh bank employees and officers will participate in the strike, news agency ANI reports.

Who all are participating in the strike?

All nine banks unions – All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers’ Congress (INBOC) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO) and the National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) will take part in the strike called by the UFBU.

Privatisation of 2 PSBs

In the Union Budget presented last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the privatisation of two public sector banks (PSBs) as part of the government’s disinvestment plan. The government has already privatised IDBI Bank by selling its majority stake in the lender to LIC in 2019, and has merged 14 public sector banks in the last four years.