Banks strike: Transactions to be affected for 5 days

New Delhi, Dec 20: Banking services could be severely affected around Christmas as members of Indian Bank's Association (IBA) have proposed a two-day strike to protest the merger of public sector banks.

Banks may remain closed for 5 days

December 21 being a Friday, bank services will be severely hit till December 26 -- except for December 24 which is Monday -- as bankers will enjoy weekends holidays as well as Christmas on December 25. Banks will remain closed on December 22 as being the second Saturday.

Why are bank officials planning a strike

The All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC) said the strike call on December 21 against Indian Banks' Associations move to leave officers in scale IV and above out of the bipartite wage settlement ambit.

"We demand full and complete mandate for officers (Scale I to VII) wage revision in 11th bipartite settlement," AIBOC said in its bank strike notice, a copy of which was marked to the Chief Labour Commissioner in New Delhi.

ATM operations likely to stay unaffected

ATM machine operations may remain unaffected on December 21, the day that the All-India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC) has called a strike, an official of the association said on Wednesday.

"We will not use any force to close the ATMs. The employees engaged in ATMs are not controlled by the officers' bodies," AIBOC assistant general secretary Sanjay Das said.
However, ATM operations may be hit on December 26, the day the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has called a strike.

Bank forum to protest BoB, Dena and Vijaya Bank merger on Dec 26

Bankers are also opposing the amalgamation of Vijaya Bank, Dena Bank and Bank of Baroda, merger of regional rural banks, attack and assault on bank officers, reduction in existing medical benefits and hike in insurance premium of retirees.

Now that you know how the week after December 20 will pan out, remember to schedule your banking activities accordingly.