All India bank strike on October 22 against merger of PSBs

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Banking services could be hampered on next week due to an all-India bank strike called by two large bank unions.

All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) have called for a strike across the country on October 22 to stage a protest against the merger of 10 public sector banks (PSBs).

"AIBEA and BEFI have called for an all India strike of its members on October 22, in support of their demands. In the event the strike materializes, the normal functioning of the bank may get affected," Oriental Bank of Commerce said in the regulatory filing on Saturday.

Also Read | Bank unions on strike tomorrow against 10 public sector banks merger

In a joint statement, the unions said that the strike call is to oppose bank mergers and banking reforms and high penal and service charges for customers. Other demands include recovery of bad loans, stringent action on defaulters charges and job security, according to the statement.

The State Bank of India (SBI), however, said the impact would be minimum as most of its employees are not members of the participating unions.

This comes after the financial institution issed a letter in the public domain calling the "megre of the banks is the murder of the banks."

"The governmenr may call it a merger but in reality it is a cold blooded murder of 6 Banks (Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Corportation Bank, Oriental Bank, Syndicate Bank and United Bank of India). Because after the merger, these 6 banks which have been built up over the years, will disappear from the banking scenario," the letter reads. 

In August, the government announced mega merger plans for state-run banks in a bid to strengthen the country's financial sector, a move which it said would bring down the number of public sector banks  (PSBs) in the system to 12 from 27.

(With ANI inputs)