• Monday (Dec. 24) will be a working day
• Today’s closure demanding pay revision; another strike on Dec. 26

Mysuru: A Union of Public Sector Bank Officers called for a strike today, demanding immediate wage revision and protesting merger of the State-owned banks. The strike call given by the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) hit banking operations in city and across the country.

However, private sector banks continued usual business as they are not part of the strike. All the State-owned banks including State Bank of India, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Corporation Bank downed their shutters in city this morning. Most of the banks had already informed their customers about the strike and its impact on their normal banking operations. The bank employees are demanding wage revision based on the minimum wages formula without linking to profits or paying capacity.

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of the top nine bank unions, has also decided to observe a strike on Dec. 26. Taking into account these two days of unions’ strike and other holidays, banks would be closed for most of the extended Christmas weekend. So, most bank branches will be open only for a day (Dec. 24 Monday) between this Friday (today) and next Wednesday.

Till Dec. 26, there are three holidays — fourth Saturday on Dec. 22 (tomorrow), then Sunday and then Christmas on Tuesday. On December 26, the UFBU has called for strike. There might be thin attendance at banks on Monday, Dec. 24, as many people are likely to apply leave for a long holiday.

Services at ATMs are expected to be normal during today’s bank strike, but are likely to be affected on Dec. 26 since more bank unions will be involved. As a precautionary measure, banks have filled cash at all the 2,000-odd ATMs today and they are expected to refill cash again on Monday, Dec. 24.

As there is a long holiday for banks, there might be panic withdrawals. This being a tourist and festive season with Christmas and New Year round the corner, people might withdraw excess cash for reserve funds.

Due to the long holiday for banks and a series of strikes, traders will be hit hard as they cannot deposit cash in banks. Though they can withdraw cash for their transactions in case                                                the ATMs have cash, physical cash transactions, cheque payments and outstation cheque clearance will be crippled.

Dates on which Bank services will be hit

• Dec. 21: Bank Officers’ Union strike
• Dec. 22: Fourth Saturday Off
• Dec. 23: Sunday Weekly Off
• Dec. 24: Monday is a working day
• Dec. 25: Christmas holiday
• Dec. 26: Strike by United Forum of   Bank Unions

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