Banking services remain hit as staff continue strike

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, February 1

Services of public sector banks remained affected today as bank unions continued with their nationwide two-day strike. Following the strike call given by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank unions, including All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW), bank employees in the district have assembled in front of their branches and raised slogans against policies of the ruling government. A massive rally by hundreds of bank workers was also held at the SBI main branch, near Skylark Chowk.

As the clearing houses remained suspended for two days, around 40,000 cheques for estimated Rs 200 crore remained unclear. Business of around Rs 800 crore was affected in the district due to the strike call.

The pending demands of the bank unions include five-day week, merger of special allowance with basic pay, settlement at 20 per cent hike on payslip components with adequate loading thereof, wage revision and scrapping of the New Pension Scheme (NPS), updation of pension, improvement in family pension, allocation to staff welfare fund based on operating profits of banks and exemption from income tax on retiral benefits without ceiling, SPS Virk, co-convener, Jalandhar unit of the UFBU, said.

The union members threatened to intensify their protest if the Central Government did not accept their demands at the earliest.

They are likely to hold the next strike on March 11,12 and 13 and an indefinite strike from April 1.