Five associate banks of State Bank of India have called for strike on two days this month demanding that they be de-linked from their parent entity and not be merged with it.
While June 4 strike is proposed to be held by the unions of these associates banks, the June 24 call seeks nationwide support by involving other bank employees.
State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Hyderabad and State Bank of Patiala are the five associates of the country's largest, state-owned lender SBI.
"Our demand is that these five associate banks should be brought out of the ambit of the SBI Act and be allowed to operate as any other public sector banks," the union leaders affiliated to the All-India Bank Employees Association said here today.
"These associate banks are performing well and SBI wants to merge them so as to expand its balance sheet. We are against any such mergers," they said.
The All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) last week called for a nation-wide strike on June 24 in support of various demands of the State Sector Bank Employees Association.
SSBEA, under its umbrella, has various unions of associate banks of SBI which are also associated with AIBEA.
