Operations of the public sector banks in India came to a halt on 8 January following the strike calal given by the All India Bank Employees Union demanding government intervention in the proposed merger of the five associate banks in State Bank of India. Working of some private sector banks too were affected. The union had demanded that the five associate banks of the State Bank of India group be delinked from the group and the group should withdraw the imposition of State Bank of India’s service conditions on the employees of the associate banks – State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur. Clerical and sub-staff in the public sector banks abstained from duty as branch operations were totally stopped. C.H. Venkatachalam, general secretary, AIBEA, said in a statement that AIBEA will seek the finance minister’s intervention in the matter. He alleged that the management of SBI has been moving unilaterally and changing the service conditions in the associate banks.
