New Delhi: Lakhs of employees of public sector banks continued their strike for the second day on Friday to protest against the government’s proposed privatization of banks that has affected normal functioning across the country.
The shutters of branches remained closed in many parts of the country on Friday following a strike call given by the United Forum of Bank Unions.UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank associations including the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and the National Organization of Bank Employees (NOBW).
As a result, services like deposit and withdrawal at branches, check withdrawal and loan approval remain paralyzed due to the two-day strike ending later in the day.
Public sector lenders, including State Bank of India, had informed customers that services at their branches may be affected due to the strike.
However, the private sector, especially the new generation private sector lenders, such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank are operating as usual.
(AIBEA) general secretary CH Venkatachalam said the strike was against the government’s decision to privatize public sector banks, which are playing an important role in nation building.
AIBOC general secretary Soumya Dutta said that around 7 lakh people from across the country are taking part in the two-day strike.
In the Union Budget presented in February, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the privatization of two public sector banks (PSBs) as part of her disinvestment plan.
To facilitate privatization, the government has listed the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 for introduction and passage during the current session of Parliament.
The government has privatized 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.
The shutters of branches remained closed in many parts of the country on Friday following a strike call given by the United Forum of Bank Unions.UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank associations including the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and the National Organization of Bank Employees (NOBW).
As a result, services like deposit and withdrawal at branches, check withdrawal and loan approval remain paralyzed due to the two-day strike ending later in the day.
Public sector lenders, including State Bank of India, had informed customers that services at their branches may be affected due to the strike.
However, the private sector, especially the new generation private sector lenders, such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank are operating as usual.
(AIBEA) general secretary CH Venkatachalam said the strike was against the government’s decision to privatize public sector banks, which are playing an important role in nation building.
AIBOC general secretary Soumya Dutta said that around 7 lakh people from across the country are taking part in the two-day strike.
In the Union Budget presented in February, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the privatization of two public sector banks (PSBs) as part of her disinvestment plan.
To facilitate privatization, the government has listed the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 for introduction and passage during the current session of Parliament.
The government has privatized 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.
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