Two-day bank strike ends; banking operations hit across Maharashtra

Banking operations across Maharashtra remained impacted for the second straight day on Friday as employees of state-run lenders continued their two-day strike against bank privatisation.

Disruption in services like cash withdrawals, deposits and cheque clearances hit customers hard across the state.

Most of the state-owned banks' ATMs went dry due to lack of replenishment, unions said.

The two-day strike was called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) to protest against the government's move to privatise state-run banks.

The government had in Budget 2021-22 announced its intent to take up privatisation of two public sector banks (PSBs) during the year.

In Maharashtra, around 60,000 PSB employees were on strike.

UFBU claimed that about nine lakh employees of state-run banks across the country observed the strike.

"The strike was total. All government-related businesses in public sector banks were hampered. Most of the ATMs could not be replenished," UFBU's Convenor (Maharashtra) Devidas Tuljapurkar said.

UFBU is an umbrella body of nine unions, including All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), AIBEA and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW).