Bank strike enters second day

Banking services were affected for the second day in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Puducherry following the nation-wide strike by employees demanding wage revision.
The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella organisation representing about eight lakh bank employees, commenced the 48-hour strike yesterday after the recent talks between the Labour Ministry and the Unions held in New Delhi failed.
According to UFBU, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have 11,300 branches of both public and private sector banks and a network of nearly 7,500 ATMs.
Noting that the demands of the employees were reasonable and negotiable, UFBU General Secretary Ch Venkataachalam said the Union was ready to settle the demands through mutual discussions.

"If the banks do not adopt a fair approach, the employees resentment would have to be ventilated through strikes only. We hope the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) would come forward to settle the demands through amicable negotiations and finalise the settlement at the earliest," he said.
If the same attitude by the IBA and the government continues, "we will be left with no alternative than to further intensify the agitation," he added.