If you are planning to visit the bank soon, your work will have to wait as banks across India will be closed for four consecutive days starting from Saturday (March 13) to Tuesday (March 16). March 13 is the second Saturday of the month and March 14 falls on a Sunday holiday.
Meanwhile, the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) the apex body of nine organizations of bank employees, has announced a two-day nation-wide strike on March 15 and March 16 to protest against the proposed privatization of two public sector banks.
It may be recalled that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the privatization of two public sector banks as part of the disinvestment program during her Budget 2021 speech.
All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW), All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA) and Bank Employees Confederation of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO) are the nine bank unions that make up UFBU and represent a total of 10 lakh employees.
Banking unions have come together against this move of Sitharaman.
Banking services such as applying for loans, issue of demand drafts, opening a savings account are expected to be affected. The State Bank of India (SBI) has alerted its customers about the strikes affecting regular banking hours and services.
Private banks like Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, etc will not participate in this strike and thus their working hours will not be hit. ATMs will be functional across India.
