Around 1 million employees of various banks, including private, have called for a one-day strike on December 26 to protest against the proposed amalgamation of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda. The strike call comes on the heels of an officers union of state-run banks observing a day-long strike on last Friday on similar grounds along with demand for immediate settlement of their wage negotiations.
In September, the government had announced the merger of state-owned Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, both under the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework of the RBI, with larger peer Bank of Baroda, creating the third-largest bank.
The UFBU is an umbrella organization of nine unions, including the All-India Bank Officers Confederation, the All- India Bank Employees Association and the National Organisation of Bank Workers, among others.
The unions claim that government wants banks to grow in size by this amalgamation but even if all public sector banks are bundled into one, the merged entity cannot find a place among the top 10 globally. The unions say post-merger, a large number of branches will be closed and customers will have to face hardships as already banks are burdened with various government schemes such as Jan Dhan Yojana, Mudra, social security insurance, and PM’s housing scheme, among others.
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