New Delhi: The Financial department of the country will witness a breakdown after bank employees set on a 2-day strike against the privatization of two public sector banks. The United Forum of Bank Union (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank unions, has called up for the walkout in which more than 10lakh employees would participate.
Services such as deposits and withdrawal at branches, cheque clearance, and loan approvals would be affected due to the strike. However, ATMs are likely to remain functional. With the banks not functioning on the 13th and 14th as per the holiday norms; this strike will affect a major portion of the economy.
The strike comes after the Union Finance Minister Sitharaman announced in her budget speech the privatization of two public sector banks (PSBs) as part of the government’s disinvestment plan. In the purview of which IDBI bank has already been privatized by the government by selling the majority stake of the bank to LIC in 2019. The government has also merged 14 public sector banks in the last four years.
Some government banks have already informed their customers of the halt in their services. However, private banks will function smoothly. Banks that will participate in the strike are All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers’ Congress (INBOC) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO) and the National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW).
Apart from bank unions, all the unions in four General Insurance Companies will be on strike on March 17. All the unions in LIC are on strike on March 18