Bank Strike on December 17: To protest against Centre’s move to privatise two public sector banks, nearly nine lakh bank employees of various state-run banks has started a two day bank strike from December 16. Banking operations in India will face disruptions on Friday as the strike will be continued on December 17.

State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, UCO Bank, Central Bank of India have cautioned the users that banking services will be affected during the nationwide protest this week.

All you Need to Know About the Two-day Bank Strike on December 16,17

1) In Union Budget 2021, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced to privatise to public sector lender to meet Centre’s disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore in this fiscal. For this, the central government had decided to introduce the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in the ongoing Winter session of Parliament. The bill aims to amend the provision in the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, which makes it mandatory for the government to hold 51 per cent stake in public sector banks at all times. The new bill will reduce the government’s minimum shareholding to 26 per cent.

2) The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), the umbrella body of nine unions, including All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) has called two-day strike to protest against the proposed bill.

3) “Public sector banks are on the forefront in implementing all government schemes, such as Jan-Dhan Yojana, social sector insurance scheme and Mudra schemes, meant for the economically and socially backward sections of the society,” said UFBU’s convenor (Maharashtra) Devidas Tuljapurkar. Privatisation may result in closure of bank branches in rural and backward areas, which may affect the implementation of various government schemes in these regions, he added.

4) Apart from public sector banks, some employees from old generation private sector banks and regional rural banks have also joined the banking strike on December 16. Employee unions from Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) employees are also extending support to the strike, UFBU’s convenor told PTI.

5) State Bank of India earlier mentioned that normal functioning of branches and ATM services will be affected during the two-day bank strike. “We advise that while the Bank has made necessary arrangements to ensure normal functioning in its branches and offices on the days of Strike, it is likely that work in our Bank may be impacted by the strike,” SBI said.

6) Punjab National Bank, UCO Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Central Bank of India, RBL Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank services will also be hit during bank strike.

7) Sanjay Das, general secretary of All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC) said that besides the two-day strike, a series of other agitational programmes will be carried out if the government does not give up the idea of privatising PSBs.

8) “Around 70 per cent of the country’s total deposits are with the PSBs and handing them over to private capital will put the common man’s money deposited in these banks at risk,” Das added.

9) The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu extended support to the two-day nationwide strike called by bank employees on December 16 and 17. Party general secretary and state minister Durai Murugan wished the strike success and announced his party’s “total support” to the protest in which close to nine lakh employees of various State-run banks would participate.

10) There have been reports that the Centre might not introduce Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 during ongoing winter session of Parliament.