New Delhi: A nation-wide strike has been called by the bank unions on Wednesday to protest against the proposed amalgamation of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda. The strike is bound to to affect the services of state-owned banks.

Earlier on December 21, a day-long strike was observed by an officers' union of state-run banks against the merger. They also demanded immediate settlement of wage negotiations. Most of the banks have already informed customers about the strike.

The strike is being organised by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella organisation of nine unions, including the All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC), the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE) and the National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW). The UFBU claims membership of 10 lakh officers and staffers.

According to AIBEA General Secretary C H Vekatachalam, the conciliation meeting called by Additional Chief Labour Commissioner did not lead to any assurance and so the unions are going ahead with the strike.

During the meeting, neither the government nor the concerned banks came forward to assure that they will not go ahead with the merger, he added.