Planning to do any financial transaction? You must know your banks will be shut for straight four days as bank unions—All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA), Indian National Bank Officers' Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO)—have jointly declared the bank strike in protest of the government's plan to merge several public sector banks.

On August 30, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government will merge 10 state-run PSBs to create four big banks: Punjab National Bank-Oriental Bank of Commerce-United Bank of India; Canara Bank-Syndicate Bank; Union Bank of India-Andhra Bank-Corporation Bank; and Indian Bank-Allahabad Bank.

In protest of the merger and other demands, nationalised banks across the country will observe strike from midnight of September 25 to midnight of September 27, the general secretary of AIBOC (Chandigarh), Deepal Kumar Sharma, said in Chandigarh.

They even served a notice to the Indian Banks’ Association, stating, “In accordance with the provisions contained in sub-section (1) of Section 22 of the Industrial Dispute Act 1947, we hereby give you notice that 4 Officers' Trade Union Organizations as stated above, propose to go on continuous strike from midnight of 25th September to midnight of 27th September 2019 and indefinite strike from the second week of November 2019."

One of the union leaders informed PTI that the nationalised banks will further observe indefinite strike from the second week of November to press for their demands.

The unions are seeking the immediate introduction of a five-day week in full and reduction of cash transaction hours and regulated working hours. They have also demanded to halt undue interference in the existing procedure of vigilance cases by outside agencies, settlement of issues pertaining to retirees, adequate recruitment, scrapping of NPS, reduction of service charges for consumers and harassing of officers under specious plea of non-performance, reported PTI.

United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank employees unions, will be protesting on September 20 outside Parliament to oppose the government's recent mega public sector banks collaboration plan.

(With inputs from PTI)

First Published:Sept 13, 2019 1:26 PM IST