Banks To Go On Two-Day Strike From Monday To Protest Against Govt's Disinvestment Plan

Last month as a form of protest, bank employees were seen wearing black badges. They are protesting Budget 2021's disinvestment proposed by the Finance Minister.

New Delhi: The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which is an umbrella body of nine bank unions, has called for a two-day strike, i.e. March 15 and 16 to protest against the proposed privatisation of two state-owned lenders. But since March 13 is a second Saturday, March 14 is Sunday it would be four-day break in the regular banking operations.

The protest is to express the dissatisfaction over Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget 2021-22 announcement about the privatisation of two public sector banks other than IDBI Bank as part of the government’s disinvestment drive to generate Rs 1.75 lakh crore. One general insurance company will also be privatised in the coming fiscal, she said adding that the much-delayed disinvestment processes of Air India and BPCL among others would be completed in the upcoming fiscal.

"We have been informed by the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) that the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has given a call for strike in the banking industry on March 15 and March 16, for issues relating to industry level and not for any bank-level issues," PTI quoted Canara Bank as saying in a regulatory filing. Canara Bank has warned that the scale of the strike may affect banking services. 

The unions which have called for a strike include All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Employees' Federation Federation of Canara Bank Employees' Congress (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers' Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW), National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO), All India Nationalised Bank Officers' Federation Canara Bank Officers' Association (Regd.) (AINBOF).

 Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh has also called for phase-wise agitation against the disinvestment and privatisation of the banks.

Since the banks will be closed for four days straight, people can experience difficulties withdrawing money from ATMs and bank branches.