AISBOF on strike tomorrow against SBS, SBI merger

New Delhi, Aug 17 (UNI) All India State Bank Officers Federation (AISBOF) today said they will observe a one-day countrywide strike tomorrow in protest against the merger of the State Bank of Saurashtra (SBS) with the State Bank of India (SBI).

The Federation said over 80,000 officers working in more than 15,000 branches and offices of State Bank Group comprising of the SBI and its seven associate banks will go on a one-day strike.

AISBOF General Secretary ((North Eastern Circle) K P Deb told UNI in Shillong that the AISBOF, along with their counterparts of associate banks, would launch an indefinite strike in September if the SBI management moved ahead with the proposed merger.

The government had issued a notification on August 14 on the merger. Earlier, it had cleared the merger on July 24, leading to protests from the AISBOF.

More than 350 branches of State Bank Group situated in Delhi and NCR will remain closed and no transaction or clearing will be handled at any of these branches.

A massive demonstration will be held in the State Bank headquarters here, a statement said.

Mr Deb said one of the major fallouts of the proposed merger would be closure of a large number of SBI and associate bank branches, which will affect the flow of credit and banking services particularly in interior and rural parts of the country.

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