Banking services hit as staff begin two-day stir

New Delhi, December 16

Banking operations were impacted across the country on Thursday as lakhs of public sector bank (PSB) employees began their two-day strike to protest against bank privatisation.

Shutters of many branches of PSBs like State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank and Bank of India were down on Thursday with a message informing customers about the strike. Services are likely to be hit on Friday as well.

The strike call has been given by the United Forum of Bank Union (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank unions, including All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW).

Services such as deposits and withdrawals at branches, cheque clearance and loan approvals were affected. However, ATMs at many places were working fine.

According to AIBEA general secretary CH Venkatachalam, about 20.4 lakh cheques worth Rs 18,600 crore could not be transacted on Thursday.

Private sector lenders like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were working as usual, though inter-bank cheque clearances were impacted. — PTI

Protest against privatisation

• Services such as deposits, withdrawals, cheque clearance and loan approvals were hit
• About 20.4 lakh cheques worth Rs18,600 crore could not be transacted on Thursday
• The strike has been called against the government's move to privatise state-owned lenders