KOCHI: The two-day nationwide strike by public sector bank employees, which began on Wednesday, has affected large cash transactions, while ATM-based withdrawals were also affected in some ATMs of PSU banks.
One can withdraw only `50,000 from ATMs a day, while for withdrawals for higher amounts can be made only from bank branches. With PSU bank branches sporting a deserted look owing to the strike, the officers said customers who required cash above `50,000 were hit hard by the stir.Sony Mathew, a Kalamassery resident, said, “I was supposed to pay my building contractor about `3 lakh. However, due to the bank strike, I will be able to deliver the money only on Friday. Building construction work has also been affected due to the strike.”
The United Forum of Banks Union (UFBU), a parent body of bank unions, including the National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Officers Association (AIBOA) and Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), called the strike in protest against the meagre two per cent salary hike offered by Indian Banks Association.
The strike is adding to the woes of the public who are already reeling from the disruption caused by the postal strike which entered the ninth day on Wednesday. Money orders, distributed by post, have not been dispatched since May 21.
It is learnt 5,300 branches public, private and foreign sector banks are on strike while operations of private banks such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank continue almost normally. The impact of cheque clearing and receipts remaining blocked for two days is going to trouble the public in rural and urban areas.
“It is not our intention to make people suffer. However, the grievances we are facing also must be addressed by the Centre,” said K S Krishna, joint secretary, All India Bank Employees Associations (AIBEA).
C D Josson, state convenor, UFBU, warned the trade unions will intensify the strike if the Centre was not ready to meet the demands.