Bank unions call strike on July 12, 13 against proposed merger

MUMBAI: In the wake of the Cabinet nod for State Bank of India (SBI) to merge its five associates with itself, employee unions have called a protest strike on July

MUMBAI: In the wake of the Cabinet nod for State Bank of India (SBI) to merge its five associates with itself, employee unions have called a protest strike on July 12 and 13.

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About 300,000 employees will participate in the strike on July 13 under the banner of the All India Bank Employees’ Association with the support of All India Bank Officers’ Association; 45,000 staff of all SBI associates will strike on July 12.

“We are also talking to other unions for support as most employees are unhappy with the decision of the merger. Employees are told they will get the benefits but there are certain service conditions are not employee-friendly like more transfers, etc,” said CH Venkatachalam, general secretary, All India Bank Employees’ Association.

“Public sector banks are passing through a challenging time with bad loans increasing to almost Rs 13 lakh crore. And instead of resolving it, they are talking about consolidation, which will only hide the bad loans but not recover them...We want the government to retract the (merger) approval,” he said.

A previous nationwide strike on May 20 opposing the proposal of the merger with the participation of 45,000 employees went unheeded as government went ahead with the approval.