Two-day nationwide bank strike from today, Key services to be hit

New Delhi : The umbrella body of nine bank unions, United Forum of Bank Union (UFBU), has called for a two-day nationwide strike on March 15 and 16. The strike is called against the privatisation of Public Sector Banks and retrograde banking reforms. Over 10 lakh bank employees and officers will participate in the strike.

All 9 banks unions which will take part in strike called by the UFBU –
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).

These services will be affected –
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.

The strike comes after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget announcement. She announced the privatisation of two public sector banks (apart from IDBI Bank) as part of the government’s disinvestment drive to generate ₹ 1.75 lakh crore.

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, while unions of four insurance companies have called for a strike against the privatisation of public companies.