INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Strike is organised by the United Forum of Bank Unions, umbrella organisation of nine unions
protest against the proposed amalgamation of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda.This will be the second bank strike in less than
a week.Last Friday (December 21), an officers' union of state-run banks observed a day-long strike to protest against the merger and also
demanded immediate settlement of wage negotiations.Most of the banks have already informed customers about the strike.Private sector banks
will continue to function as usual.The strike is being organised by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella organisation of nine
unions, including the All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC), the All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA), National
Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE) and the National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW)
The UFBU claims membership of 10 lakh officers and staffers.According to AIBEA General Secretary CH Vekatachalam, the conciliation meeting
called by Additional Chief Labour Commissioner did not lead to any assurance and so the unions are going ahead with the strike.During the
meeting, neither the government nor the concerned banks came forward to assure that they will not go ahead with the merger, he added.The
unions claim that the government wants banks to grow in size by such mergers but even if all public sector banks are bundled into one, the
merged entity will not find a place among the top 10 globally.The government in September approved the amalgamation of Bank of Baroda (BoB),
Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank -- the first three-way merger in the public sector banking space.
