PSU bank strike: Operations hit partially

Banking operations including cash transactions and cheque clearing were partially impacted today as a section of public sector bank employees went on a day- long nationwide strike to protest against the violation of bilateral settlement agreement by associate entities of SBI.
The strike call was given by All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA), leading to a strong impact on the banks with its presence. Officers were not part of the strike.
However, employees at private sector banks as also two state-owned SBI and IOB were not part of the strike. Staff at five associates of State Bank of India however participated in the strike.

As precautionary measures, most of the banks had issued advisory to their customers saying they will take all steps necessary for smooth functioning at branches on the day of strike.
The strike call was given on December 28 to protest violation of the bilateral settlement by five associate banks of the SBI and their attempt to force unilateral service conditions on the employees, AIBEA general secretary C H Venkatachalam had said.
Five subsidiaries of SBI are State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad and State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.
"Strike was trust upon about 3.50 lakh employees as the management did not yield to our request. It has resulted in inconvenience to customers," the AIBEA claimed.

"We hope that the government and Indian Banks' Association will understand the genuine reasons behind our strike and intervene in the issue effectively to ensure adherence to legally binding bilateral settlement and resolve the demands of the employees," Venkatachalam said.