Banking services suspended as part of Nationwide strike
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, March 15 2021: All major banking services including cheque clearance have been suspended in the State as employees of Nationalised banks launched a 2-day strike from today against the Centre's proposed privatisation of two public sector banks.

The strike by the bank employees in the State is part of the March 15-16 Nationwide strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), a conglomerate of nine bank bodies.

All Nationalised banks in Imphal and elsewhere including the State Bank of India, Punjab and Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of Maharashtra, UCO Bank and Dena Bank were shut today.

Banking services suspended as part of Nationwide strike

Services such as deposits and withdrawal at branches, cheque clearance, Government transactions and loan approvals have been affected.

While ATMs have not been shut and are expected to function normally, some of them are without cash in Imphal.

These ATMs are expected to be replenished only after the strike ends.

Even though a chunk of the banks are on strike, services of other banks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank are expected to remain normal.

It may be noted that about 10 lakh bank employees Nationwide are protesting the proposed privation of two public sector banks (PSBs) .

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the proposed privatisation of two PSBs as part of the Centre's disinvestment plan in line with the Union Budget 2021.However, the names of the two public sector banks are yet to be announced.

Notably, the Centre has already privatised IDBI (Industrial Development Bank of India) Bank by selling its majority stake to LIC in 2019 and merged 14 public sector banks in the last four years.

The members of the UFBU 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 Confederation of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO) .