Bank Union Strike Today: Around nine lakh Public Sector Bank employees are going on a two-day strike today against the central government’s decision to privatise two banks. The strike is scheduled for December 16 and 17. The strike has been called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) which will affect the services of the State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, and Central Bank of India among others.
In order to avoid the inconvenience likely to be caused to the customers, the SBI has urged its employees to drop the strike, however, the union seems to be adamant against the government’s decision.
SBI appealed to its employees, “We request our staff members to reconsider their decision and refrain from participating in the proposed strike on 16th and 17th December 2021 in the interest of our customers, investors and the Bank,” via a tweet on December 13.
Apart from SBI, the Central Bank and Punjab National Bank also urged the employees to refrain from participating in the strike.
Why Is There A Strike
In the Union Budget of 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced that the central government is going to privatise two banks as a part of their Rs 1.75 lakh crore disinvestment target. For the same, the government has decided to present the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in the parliament during the ongoing Winter session.
The bill will amend the mandatory clause for the government to keep a 51 percent stake in the public sector banks at all times, and reduce it to 26 percent. However, which two banks will be privatised has not been decided yet. On Monday, Finance Minister Sitharaman said in Lok Sabha that the committee is yet to decide on the two candidates for privatisation.