Transaction worth Rs 2,200 cr hit as bank employees strike work

Chennai:

Cheque transactions worth more than Rs 2,200 crore were hit as more than 1,400 bank branches remained closed as bank employees, including officers, went on a day-long strike to protest against bank reforms and non-implementation of wage revision for more than one year.

All India Bank Employees’ Association general secretary C H Venkatachalam said that about three lakh cheques worth Rs 2,200 crore could not be processed besides government transactions, foreign exchange transactions, money market operations, were also affected. 

In many places, ATMs did not function or were dried up.  Across the country, about 40 lakh cheques worth Rs 32,000 crore could not be processed by the clearing houses.

Nine bank unions under the umbrella of United Forum of Bank Unions took part in the stir in which more than 10 lakh bank employees and officers of public sector banks, private banks and foreign banks participated.

Venkatachalam said the strike has been a total success all over the country. Banking transactions including clearing operations were paralysed.

“Even though UFBU had given notice for the strike one month ago, the Government and Indian Banks Association did not take necessary steps to resolve the demands.  Hence the strike has been forced on us,” Venkatachalam said.

“We are sorry that the banking public would have been inconvenienced by this strike but that was unavoidable due to the non-serious approach of the IBA and government to avert the strike by improving their offer on wage increase and discussing our concerns on the banking sector reforms,” he said.

UFBU is meeting at Hyderabad on December 23 to discuss further course of action and next phase of agitation and strikes, Venkatachalam said