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Ahead of 2-day nationwide bank strike, SBI says ‘work likely to be impacted’
United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body comprising nine major unions, has called for a nationwide strike on March 15 and 16 to protest against the central government’s move to privatise public sector banks.
“We have been advised by Indian Banks Association (IBA) that United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has given a call for an all-India strike by bank employees on 15th and 16th March 2021,” SBI said in a regulatory filing on March 10. While the bank emphasised that it has made all the arrangements to ensure normal functioning in all its branches and offices, it added that the work may be impacted by the strike.
Ahead of the two-day strike, banks are also scheduled to be closed on March 13 (second Saturday) and March 14 (Sunday).
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The UBFU comprises the 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 Federation 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).
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting Union Budget on February 1, had announced the privatisation of public sector banks as part of the government’s disinvestment drive to generate ₹1.75 lakh crore. “Other than IDBI Bank, we propose to take up the privatisation of two PSBs and one general insurance company in the year 2021-22,” Sitharaman had said.
Last year, the Union government merged 10 public sector banks into four, bringing down their number from 27 in March 2017 to 12.
