BENGALURU: Though employees of state-run banks are on strike for two days, it will not affect citizens as online transactions are still in operation.
Bank employees of all state-run banks including officers as well as a few employees and officers belonging to unions of private banks, decided to halt services on May 30 and 31 in protest against the proposed low wage-hike. The Union government proposed only a two per cent hike in wages, citing bad loans, as against the 15 per cent hike for bank employees and officials in the period between 2012 and 2017.
According to Convener of State-Level Banker's Committee M Mohan Reddy, contrary to fears expressed earlier, the strike would not delay crediting of salaries into accounts of employees linked to these banks and accounts of government employees, as online transactions would carry on. The only inconvenience citizens could face is that they can not carry out transactions at banks on these two days.
"Banks have taken special care to stack ATMs with cash. In case citizens need larger amounts of money during this period, information about the strike had been publicised earlier and they could have withdrawn the money they needed in advance," Reddy said.
As part of the strike, about 8,000 employees of banks on strike held a protest at the city centre here on Wednesday. The protestors, among which about 2,000 were women, claimed the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) was not considering their demands.