Bank staff strike: Business worth Rs 250 crore affected on Day 1

PRAYAGRAJ: Banking services remained hit on Monday, the first day of the two-day strike by nine bank unions under the banner of the United Forum of Bank Union (UFBU), against privatisation of public sector banks and alleged retrograde banking reforms.

The strike saw 450 branches of 25 banks remaining closed throughout the day impacting transactions and business worth over Rs 250 crore, claimed the striking workers.

Due to the strike in the banks, businessmen and ordinary citizens faced hardships.

Punjab National Bank Employees Union’s deputy general secretary Shashi Kant Srivastava and All India Bank Officer Confederation president Sushil Dubey said that business worth Rs 150 crore was affected only due to non-clearance of cheques, besides cash transactions of more than Rs 100 crore were also affected.

Since morning, bank employees and officers gathered at the main branches of their respective banks and shouted slogans against the central government in protest against the policy of privatisation of banks. All of them then reached the SBI main branch where a large gathering was held. A large number of women bank workers were also present in the protest meeting.

Striking bank employees claimed that the strike was not for employee demands. “The strike is to save our banks from being privatised,” they maintained.

Bank employee association leaders claimed that the benefits of privatisation would be for a few corporate and private entities whereas the majority of the countrymen would be left out of the mainstream banking if the trend continues unabated.