Banking Services Continue To Remain Affected, In TN For Second Straight Day

Banking services continued to remain affected for the second day on Tuesday as part of the two-day strike call given by various central trade unions.

Operations in public and private sector banks were affected in Tamil Nadu, according to All India Bank Employees Association, and it stated that nearly Rs 5,000 crore worth of cheques could not be transacted. "Due to the strike, normal banking services were affected. Clearing operations were also affected because branches could not send the cheques for clearance.

In the southern grid functioning in Chennai, during our strike, about six lakh cheques worth Rs 5,000 crore could not be sent for clearance due to strike", AIBEA general secretary C H Venkatachalam said. The AIBEA announced the strike pressing for various demands including strengthening public sector banks, privatisation of nationalised banks, regularising contract employees and banking correspondents among others.

"There are today 4.73 lakh business correspondents who are contract employees and do not have regular pay scales and service conditions like the permanent employees even though they also do the same job," he said. Extending their support to the central trade unions' two-day strike (March 28 and 29), he said the protest was against the economic and labour policies of the Union government. "AIBEA fully supports the demands and hence joined the strike all over the country. Bank employees of public sector banks, private banks, regional rural banks, foreign banks joined the strike," he said.

(PTI)