No Bank strike for now, government looking into measures to resolve issues

New Delhi : A two-day nationwide bank strike has been deferred indefinitely for now. The union issued an official statement after their representatives met Union Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar in New Delhi on Monday.

Following the meeting with the finance secretary, the union officials claimed that the government has agreed to look into their demands and form a panel to look into the concerns raised by them.

Four bank unions - All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA), All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO), and Indian National Bank Officers' Congress (INBOC) - had threatened to go on a two-day strike on September 26 and 27 to protest against the consolidation of 10 state-run banks into four.

On August 30, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a possible merger of many financial institutions to revive the dipping economy.

In this round of bank consolidation, United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce are to be merged with Punjab National Bank, making the amalgamated entity the second largest public sector bank. Allahabad Bank will be merged with Indian Bank, whereas Andhra Bank will take over Corporation Bank and Union Bank of India. Meanwhile, Canara Bank will be merged with Syndicate Bank.