ATM operations likely to remain unaffected on Dec 21

ATM operations on December 21 during the bank strike called by All-India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC) may remain unaffected, an official of the association said Wednesday.

"We will not use any force to close the ATMs. The employees engaged in ATMs are not controlled by officers' bodies," AIBOC assistant general secretary Sanjay Das said.

However, ATM operations may be hit on December 26, the day the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has called a strike.

Most bank branches will remain open only for a day (Monday) between this Friday and next Wednesday. During the six-day period, there are three holidays fourth Saturday of the month, Sunday and then again on Tuesday for Christmas.

There are about 9,500 ATMs in West Bengal.

The AIBOC called a strike after it walked out of a bipartite negotiation demanding full mandate for scale I to scale VII officers, introduction of five-day work week, salary revision according to the charter of demands and a defined benefit pension payment scheme unlike the NPS.