SBI, associate banks officers go on strike

Officers of State Bank of India and its seven associate banks went on a daylong nationwide strike on Monday to protest merger of State Bank of Saurashtra with the country's largest lender SBI.

Officers of State Bank of India and its seven associate banks went on a daylong nationwide strike on Monday to protest merger of State Bank of Saurashtra with the country's largest lender SBI.

HT Image

"We are on a day-long strike to protest against the merger," All-India State Bank Officers Federation President TN Goel said while participating in a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

Even though staff below the officers rank is not participating in the strike, but activity in the country's largest lender and its associate banks will be affected.

As many as 80,000 officers of SBI and its associate banks will strike work in 15,000
branches.

Recently, the Union Cabinet had cleared the merger of SBI with State Bank of Saurashtra.

In a filing on the Bombay Stock Exchange last week, SBI had said the Finance Ministry has approved the merger of State Bank of Saurashtra with itself.

The merger would be effective from the "date as may be notified by the Government of India in the official Gazette", the filing added.

The All-India Bank Employees' Association calls another strike on August 20. An officers association in the banking industry and an employee association of the Reserve Bank are expected to join the Association.

However, SBI workers would not join that strike and would offer fraternal support to the stir, Goel said.