Nationwide bank strike on for day 2, opposition seeks Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the government has taken the decision to privatise two public sector banks without discussing the 75 crore account holders.

The strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) continued for the second day across states on Tuesday as several employees took to streets and key banking services like deposits and withdrawals and others remained affected. The opposition Congress has demanded that finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman make a statement to address concerns of the bank staffers protesting against the government’s privatisation and disinvestment plan proposed during the Union Budget presented last month.

Employees of various banks hold a banner as they shout slogans during a protest against the Privatization of Public Sector Banks and retrograde banking reforms during a two-day Nationwide strike in New Delhi on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)

Leader of the Opposition and senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said that the nation's 12 public sector banks employ 13 lakh people and have about 100,000 branches across states. “The government was able to implement schemes like zero-balance Jan Dhan accounts only on the back of the public sector banks,” he said during the Zero Hour of the Rajya Sabha.

The Congress leader alleged that the government has taken the decision to privatise two public sector banks without discussing the 75 crore account holders, who too are a stakeholder. Pointing to the scale of the demonstration and people impacted by the Centre’s decision, Kharge said employees of general insurance companies will also strike work on March 17 and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) employees have given a strike call on March 18.

“Financial security of banks will be compromised if banks are privatised. It's not about 10 lakh striking employees, it's about people of the country,” another Congress MP Ravneet Singh said according to news agency PTI.

The central government has not made any statement on the nationwide bank strike so far.

Customers may face issues in services such as cash withdrawals, deposits, cheque clearances, remittance services, PTI said earlier in the day, adding government transactions related to the treasury as well as business transactions will also be impacted.

Members of UFBU include All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA) and Bank Employees Confederation of India (BEFI). Others who have joined the protest are the 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).