Banking operations remain disrupted

Normal operations in public sector banks, including cheque clearances and fund transfers, were on Thursday hampered for the second day because of the strike called by unions to protest against reforms in the sector and outsourcing of non-core services to private sector.

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"The strike is total success all over the country. Banking services have been affected," All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C H Venkatachalam said.

Normal banking operations, including cash transactions, cheque clearances, foreign exchange dealings were affected, he added.

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Customers were depending more on ATMs as the bank managements had made advanced arrangement for loading the machines with cash.

AIBEA claimed that around 10 lakh employees and officers all over the country are participating in the strike.

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Employees of 24 public sector banks (PSBs) and 12 private banks participated in the 2-day strike, which led to hampering of banking operations.

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Unions are protesting against reform measures such as the Banking Sector Laws Amendment Bill which seeks to remove restrictions on voting rights of foreign shareholders and increase voting rights of private investors in the PSBs.

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Bank unions have been demanding pension revision, housing loan revision, 5-day working week and human resource related issues, among others.