NE SBI employees to go ahead with strike tomorrow

Shillong, Aug 17 (UNI) Officers of the State Bank of India (SBI) in the North Eastern states today said they will go ahead with their one-day nationwide strike tomorrow in protest against the merger of the State Bank of Saurashtra (SBS) with the SBI.

''The merger of the SBI and the SBS is being executed against the interests of the nation. The management has failed to honour its earlier assurance to do away with the proposed merger,'' All India State Bank Officers' Federation (North Eastern Circle) General Secretary K P Deb told UNI here.

Mr Deb said the AISBOF, along with its counterparts of associate banks, would launch an indefinite strike in September if the SBI management moved ahead with the proposed merger.

''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,'' he said.

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