Over 3.2 lakh bank officers have gone on a strike demanding an unconditional mandate accepting proposals raised at the eleventh bi-partite wage revision discussions, reports The Tribune. Banking services were hindered across the country due to the protest.

Even though it did not cover ATM operations, ATMs in some parts of the country were also affected due to the strike, as some operators came forward to provide moral support.

“We have got an overwhelming response so far as more than 3.2 lakh members participated in the strike. Banks remained closed across the country. ATMs operations were expected to be normal as they are not part of our strike but some ATMs were closed as operators gave moral support to our demand,” Assistant General Secretary of the All India Bank Officers Confederation’s (AIBOC) Sajay Das stated.

The striking union has called for a total and unconditional implementation of the charter of demands submitted in May 2017 at the eleventh bi-partite wage revision talks.

The wage revision process is in limbo even 19 months after the discussions commenced. Another strike will be observed on 26 December by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) to protest against the government’s decision to merge three PSU banks.

Considering three days of holidays (second Saturday, Sunday and Christmas) and the strike on 26 December (Wednesday), this means that many banks will stay closed till Wednesday except for normal operations on Monday.