It is not surprising that banks are going on a strike yet again on March 27 to protest against the mega-merger plan of 10 PSU banks into four larger banks which will disrupt the bank services. Well, this time branches could be shut for four days a week as the strike and other bank holidays fall in the same week.
Now, the mega-merger plan of 10 PSU banks is all set take effect from April 1 and the bank unions are demanding that the government should take back the merger plan.
All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) and All India Bank officers’ Association (AIBOA) has decided to initiate an all-India sit-in protest on March 27. The Bank Employees Federation Of India will also participate in the strike.
Banks will remain open on Monday and Tuesday and will be shut on WWednesday in several cities ahead of Gudi Padhwa and Telugu New Year. Moreover, Banks will be shut in Bengaluri, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Nagpur on March 25. Thursday will be a working day for banks amid disrupted banking services ahead of a bank strike on Friday. Again, Saturday will be a holiday as banks are shut on second and fourth Saturdays of the month.
Earlier, bank unions had threatened to sit on a three-day strike from March 11 but was cancelled later. This came after a disagreement with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) on the issue of wages of the employees.
The banks were on strike on January 31 and February 1 after which the banking services were affected. The bank employees were demanding a 20% hike of their salaries.