Banking operations are likely to be hit hard on Friday as three employees unions have called for a nationwide strike to oppose outsourcing of services, demand recruitment of staff and one more pension option.
"Over six lakh will employees go on a strike protesting against the central government's move to introduce contract system on a massive scale under the garb of outsourcing of banking services," Ramanand, joint secretary, All India Bank Employees Association said.
Transactions in most of the public sector banks except in State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Indian Overseas Bank will be the most affected.
The strike call has been given by AIBEA, Bank Employees Federation of India and All India Bank Officer's Association.
Services at SBI, BoB and IOB are unlikely to be affected much as most of their employees are members of another union National Federation of Bank Employees, which is only giving moral support to the strike.
However, Ramanand said SBI Associate banks are participating in the strike, which is also likely to cripple functions of other PSU banks including Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, Bank of India and Union Bank of India.
Clearing house operations will also be paralysed, as the Reserve Bank employees will also join the strike, he said.
The unions are demanding withdrawal of RBI circular on outsourcing and its decision to outsource clearing operations, cap voting rights at 10 per cent for foreign investors, filling up one lakh vacancies and an option to switch from provident fund to pension scheme.
General secretary of the National Confederation of Bank Employees Prafulla Patnaik told PTI that although, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Indian Overseas Bank would remain open on Friday, their employees would lend moral support to the strike.
He said that MICR branches of SBI, which acts as clearing houses of the bank, would continue to function normally.
AIBEA, AIBOA and BEFI had together called a strike on Friday to protest against the RBI circular on outsourcing of banking operations and its decision to outsource clearing operations for which a new company had been floated, the National Payments Corporation of India.
Besides RBI, SBI was the only other entity among nationalised banks to have a clearing house. Patnaik said that if RBI, which is a majority shareholder of SBI, also decided to outsource clearing operations, then the matter would be taken up at the United Forum of Bank Union.
Patnaik, who is also the secretary of SBI Staff Federation said, "We were also opposed to the idea of outsourcing of banking operations."
Meanwhile, a section of the staff at SBI feared that the Federation's decision not to participate in the strike was a result of entering into some agreement with the management.
They said that the Federation, which had signed an agreement with the management on December 27, 2005 for conversion of part-time employees to full-time, had yielded during the bargaining process.
Patnaik said that the Federation would not allow outsourcing in any form. Besides these nationalised banks affiliated to NCBE, private banks would also not participate in the strike.
The other demands were cap on voting rights for foreign investors and filling up of one lakh vacancies.
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