Banking services may be hit on 22 Oct as unions warn of strike

TIL Desk/Business/Washington/ Banking services could be affected next week as two bank unions have warned they will go on a 24-hour long strike on 22 October to protest against the recent bank mergers, falling deposit rates and a call for job security.

The two unions – the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) and the Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) – have informed the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) through a notice that they will go on strike from 6 am on 22 October to 6 am on 23 October.

State Bank of India (SBI) has already said the impact would be minimum as most of its employees are not members of the participating unions. “The membership of our bank employees in unions participating in the strike is very few, so the impact of strike on our operation will be minimal,” SBI said in the notice. It further said the loss from the proposed strike cannot be quantified as of now.