In Chennai, over 9,000 bank employees participated in the strike, All India Bank Employees Association General Secretary C H Venkatachalam.
He said the next course of action to be taken would be decided later in the day.
The All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA) and National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) are participating in the strike.
The Bill paves the way for foreign investments in the sector and setting up new private banks and allow RBI to supersede boards of private sector banks and increase cap on voting rights of private investors in PSBs to 10 per cent from one per cent.
The unions are also against merger plans of banks and opening of the sector to private players.
