Kolkata: Major banks of the country, including State Bank of India, are going on a nationwide strike tomorrow, February 12. Banks have cautioned their customers that services could be impacted and that they should complete any pressing baking work beforehand. However, the advice is that services could be affected to a limited extent. Branches are supposed to remain open but there could be delays in cash transactions and cheque clearing work. However, there will be no disruption in the digital banking services.
What did the banks warn of
State Bank of India has said it is likely that the strike will have limited impact on banking operations. It has urged customers to complete essential transactions beforehand. Another major bank, Bank of Baroda, has also communicated to the stock exchange that the strike on Feb 12 could impact branch and office operations and this might happen despite its efforts to ensure smooth operations. According to reports, IDBI Bank has also received notice for a strike from the bank unions. However, it must be noted that no bank authorities have declared Feb 12 as a holiday.
Why the strike
It could be recalled that banks observed a day’s strike on Jan 27 to press for their demand of five-day week. Then, why another strike only a few days later? The has been called by major bank unions such as All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA) and Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI). On Feb 12 they are also joining a protest called by 10 central trade unions to oppose the four new labour laws notified by the government late last year.
While the government maintains that these will make labour laws simpler and improve ease of doing business for investors which will, in turn, work in favour of the employees and job-seekers, the unions argue that the new labour codes will weaken workers’ rights. They will also make trade union registration more difficult.
The banks have said that cash transactions, cheque clearing could eb delayed as well as some other work that needs to be done at the branch level.