New Delhi / Chennai: Operations at branches of public sector banks across the country were impacted today due to a strike by unions against the proposed merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda (BoB). Today’s strike has come just days after a similar protest that stalled bank operations last week.
The strike has been called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) – an umbrella organisation of all nine unions, including the All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC), the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE) and the National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW).\
According to AIBEA general secretary C H Vekatachalam, the strike is effective across the country and employees are fighting for a just cause.
However, branches of new generation private sector banks remain unaffected by the strike called by UFBU, which claims a membership of nearly 10 lakh bank employees and officers across 21 public sector banks.
Last Friday (21 December), an officers’ union of State-run banks observed a day-long strike to protest against the merger and also demanded immediate settlement of wage negotiations.
Most of the banks had already informed customers about the strike.
(With PTI inputs)