PSU bank employees strike hurts trade & retail customers

New Delhi, Aug 7 (PTI) Employees of state-run banks across
India struck work for the second day on Friday demanding
higher salaries, aggravating hardships faced by retail and
corporate customers as Automated Teller Machine (ATM) ran dry
and bulk cash transactions were hit.

The only consolation was that private sector and foreign
banks, including ICICI Bank, Citibank and StanChart Bank
remained open, but the relief was much too little as the 26
public sector banks account for over 70 per cent of all
banking activities in the country.

Reports from various parts said ATMs have no cash left.
Union leaders claimed that two-day strike that began on
Thursday was successful.

"Branches are closed across the country," United Forum of
Bank Unions (UFBU) convener C H Venkatachalam told PTI.

However, Bank of Baroda CMD M D Mallya said,"Our ATMs
are catering to the needs of the customers. We are trying to
ensure that ATMs functions normally."

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Lok Sabha
(Lower House of Indian Parliament): "I am told that talks are
on between bank associations and worker unions."

Union leaders said Indian Banks' Association (IBA) had
earlier proposed an average 17.5 per cent hike in pay to
banking employees, but later pruned it to be 13 per cent.

Official sources, however, said that the IBA has now more
or less agreed to 17.5 per cent in increase.

Meanwhile, a meeting has been called later on Friday by
the Chief Labour Commissioner here to sort out the issue
between IBA and bank unions. PTI DP
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