Banking services across India are likely to be affected on Wednesday due to nation-wide strike called by unions to protest against the merger of Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank.
Nearly 10 lakh bank employees will be on a day-long strike. The strike has been called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella organisation of nine unions.
This would be the second bank strike in less than a week. An officers’ union of state-run banks observed a day-long strike on December 21, to protest against the merger and also demanded immediate settlement of wage negotiations.
Most of the banks have already informed their customers about the strike.
However, private banks will continue to function.
“The government wants banks to grow in size by such amalgamations 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 Unions alleged.
In September, the government approved the amalgamation of Bank of Baroda (BoB), Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank — the first three-way merger in the public sector banking space.
