Journalism of Courage
Banking services were hit across the country Thursday as about 10 lakh bankers continued their two-day strike to protest the “meagre” 2 per cent salary hike offered by Indian Banks Association (IBA).(Express Photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)
May 31 is the last day of the two-day strike being observed by the United Forum of Banking Unions (UFBU), an umbrella organisation consisting all nine unions of the banking sector. Banking operations are likely to return to normal from June 1. (Express Photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)
The All India Bank Employees Association had demanded an early revision of the wages, which is due since November 1, 2017. (Express photo by Sahil Walia)
UFBU has claimed the strike was a “total success” as employees have “enthusiastically participated in the strike in all banks and in all branches”. (Express Photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)
While the strike halted the operations of public banks, most private banks were unaffected. (Source: PTI)
Operations like deposits, fixed deposit renewals, government treasury operations, money market operations were reportedly hit by the strike. (Source: PTI)
There are about 85,000 branches of 21 public sector banks across the country. (Express Photo By Ganesh Shirsekar)
Since the strike coincides with the month-end, salary withdrawals from branches was likely to be affected. (Source: PTI)
IBA officials reasoned that the hike in wages had to be limited to 2 per cent as banks were grappling with a rise in non-performing assets. (Source: PTI)
While there were reports of disruptions from various states, the impact of the strike in certain states like Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand was more visible. (Source: PTI)
Bank union members during a protest rally at Bank Square in sector 17 Chandigarh on Wednesday. (Express photo by Sahil Walia)
