Two day bank strike hinders cheque clearance
So far 38 lakh checks have not been cleared due to the strike of public sector banks. Due to this, a total of 37 thousand crore rupees could not be transferred. On the first day, due to this, the business of about 19 thousand crore rupees was affected. Today, for the second day also, 9 lakh banking employees were on strike.
Out of this, about 10 lakh cheques worth Rs 10,600 crore are stuck in Chennai and 18 lakh cheques worth Rs 15,400 crore are stuck in Mumbai banks. 11 lakh cheques are stuck in Delhi which are worth 11 thousand crores. There is news that the government may reduce its stake in public sector banks to below 51%.
Opposition to privatization of banks
This strike of bank employees is against the privatization of public sector banks. The union claims that government banks are used by the government for bailouts. That is, help is given to other banks with their money. Among them was Yes Bank recently. The government is planning to make Central Bank and Bank of Maharashtra private banks this year. In the budget, the government had talked about privatization of two banks.
All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) general secretary CH Venkatachalam said that due to the strike on Thursday, the clearance of more than 20 lakh cheques got stuck. Due to this, the business of Rs 18,600 crore was affected. Due to this strike, work like deposit of cheque, withdrawal of cash and loan is being affected more.
Normal business in private bank
However, the employees of private banks are not on strike, so work is going on there as usual. Customers do not have any problem in the three big private sector banks HDFC, ICICI and Axis Bank. Nine employees’ unions of public sector banks have participated in it. It also includes employees of the country’s largest banks State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank.
More impact on cheque clearing
Most of the impact of the strike is happening on cheque clearing, because the rest of the services are available digitally, due to which the customers are not facing much trouble. Digital banking includes transfer, ATM cash withdrawal, internet banking, mobile banking etc. So far, there has been no problem of cash in ATMs in urban areas. However, there may be a problem on Saturday, as money has not been deposited in many ATMs for two days.
