Two-day bank strike hits banking services across country

Banking services were hit across the country for the second day on Thursday as about 10 lakh bankers continued their strike to protest a "meagre" 2% salary hike offered by Indian Banks Association (IBA) -- the management body.

May 31 is the last day of the two-day strike being observed by the United Forum of Banking Unions (UFBU), an umbrella organisation consisting all nine unions of the banking sector. Banking operations are likely to become normal from Friday.

UFBU has claimed that the strike is "total success" as the employees have "enthusiastically participated in the strike in all banks and in all branches".

According to reports received by UFBU from various states and centres like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Patna, Nagpur, Jammu, Guwahati, Jamshedpur, Lucknow, Agra, Ambala, and Trivandrum, employees have enthusiastically participated in the strike in all banks and branches.

There are about 85,000 branches of 21 public sector banks across the country having business share of about 70%.

Operations in the new-generation private banks like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, however, were almost normal, barring few activities including cheque clearance.

Nearly 10 lakh employees, working in various branches of 21 public sector banks, 13 old generation private sector banks, six foreign banks and 56 regional rural banks across the country went on a two-day strike on Wednesday as IBA offered them a nominal wage revision, All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), affiliate of UFBU had said in a statement.

Since the strike coincides with the month-end, salary withdrawals from branches were said to be affected yesterday and the situation is likely to remain same today as well, said sources in the banking sector and employees union.

Operations like deposits, FD renewals, government treasury operations, money market operations are also being reportedly hit by the strike.

In its last wage negotiation meeting held earlier this month, IBA proposed a nominal salary revision to bank employees and officers, owing to huge losses incurred by them in the last few quarters, bank unions said.

Wage revision in the banks has been due from November 2017.