Banking services are disrupted on Tuesday after branches of public banks remained either closed or non-operational over a strike called by staffers and officers pressing for their demands, including accountability of top executives in the wake of mounting bad loans.
Various services like cash deposits and withdrawal from branches and cheque clearances have been hit hard by the strike, which has been called under the aegis of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU).
All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) General Secretary CH Venkatachalam said that the strike has been forced on them due to the “insensitive” and “adamant” bank management and IBA. Venkatachalam also said that they even did not bother to talk about providing compensation for extra hours put in by bank staff during the demonetisation period.
Chandigarh :Bank employees stage a strike over wage revision and compensation issue. pic.twitter.com/1lg4dEFnTd
— ANI (@ANI_news) February 28, 2017
The unions are also opposed to the proposed labour reforms of the government and outsourcing of permanent jobs in the banking sector.
Some of the demands include compensation of employees and officers for extra hours of work put in following demonetisation in November and early initiation of process of next wage revision of bank employees.
Bhopal: Bank employees stage a strike over wage revision and compensation issue. pic.twitter.com/MvAcNCaYkV
— ANI (@ANI_news) February 28, 2017
A senior State Bank of India executive said, “We will not see much of a problem except for cheque clearances. Most of the functions are done online so we do not expect any major impact.”
As many as 27 public sector banks control 75 per cent of the total business.
