Two-day strike: Public sector banks shut, staff protest

PUBLIC SECTOR banks and ATMs all over the city remained shut as part of the two-day strike staged by the United Forum of Bank Union in opposition of the proposed two per cent hike in wages, which they consider meagre.

While private sector banks like HDFC Bank and Indusland Bank continued to function, several public sector banks remained shut with notices outside the ATMs explaining the causes of the strike and correspondingly the United Forum of Bank Union’s demands.

Employees of all the 21 state-run commercial banks, regional rural banks, 13 old generation private banks and six foreign banks participated in the protest, unions claimed. Some employees of the private and foreign banks are union members. The strike caused major inconveniences for customers of public sector banks.

“My supplier has been calling me since morning for money,” said Afzal Khan, a cloth merchant based in Bandra. “I don’t have an account with any other bank… I will have to wait two days to transact any business now.” Khan was turned away from the Union Bank of India, Bandra West branch.
Down the road, the State Bank of India and Mumbai District Central Bank also remained shut. At the Worli branch of Bank of India, customers, unaware of the strike, were turned away by a security guard. “The machine isn’t working, that’s why there is no money,” the guard said turning away a harried customer. Many customers proceeded to the next functional ATMs after they found one closed.

The state-run bank branches in Mumbai were either shut or witnessed little activity. Their employees held a march from the P M Road in Fort, close to the central bank headquarters, to Azad Maidan.