Banking business of around Rs 4,000 crore was affected in the State as bank employees and officers of all public sector banks and some private sector banks joined a nationwide one-day strike on Wednesday, said All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA) State Committee general secretary BN Dhal.
Banking operations in the State came to a grinding halt due to the strike in protest against privatisation of banks and demanding an immediate hike in their salaries. Though the branches of banks did not open, ATM counters were functioning as on normal days.
Nine unions, the AIBOA, All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation Of Bank Employees (NCBE), Bank Employees Federation Of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO) had given the strike call under the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), the umbrella organisation of five employees’ unions and four officers’ unions of public-sector banks in the country.
Cheque clearances and withdrawing and depositing of money in the public-sector bank branches were hit in the twin city due to the strike. Around 70,000 officers and employees of the banks joined the strike, said Dhal.
According to the UFBU, the wage revision of bank employees is due since November 2012. However, the discussions on a revised settlement since one year have been inconclusive, said the UFBU sources.