In view of the proposed merger of three state run banks namely Vijaya Bank, Bank of Baroda and Dena Bank, the bank Union has made a call to gone on strike latest by mid-December. The date for the strike shall be out in the first-week of November.

General Secretary, C H Venkatachalam, All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) said that the strike will be a protest against the Centre's policy of bank amalgamation. "A final date for the strike will be decided in the first week of November. We have experienced these mergers in case of SBI and its associate banks, which has not been a good experience. There are branches which were closed down resulting into lesser employment opportunity," he said

He added, "Since merger of its associate banks, the SBI has closed down 1,600 branches, while 5,000 more are on the radar. During last 10 years, SBI along with associate banks saw 60,000 new recruits every year, while this year after the merger, the bank is taking about 5,000 new recruits. This is affecting employment in banking."

Also he stressed on the fact that such an amalgamation proposal will not bring down the NPAs of the faltering banks.

He also said that banking sector employees will also join the Central Trade Union Convention in a strike on January 8-9 next year.

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