Bharat Bandh: ATM Services Likely to be Hit as Bank Unions to Join Nationwide Strike; All You Need to Know

Banking services are expected to be severely hit as several bank employee unions have announced to join the all-India general strike or 'Bharat Bandh' on January 8. The banking operations will stay affected on Wednesday as ten central trade unions, with support from Left parties, have decided to sit on a strike to protest against the economic policies of the Government.

As major banks will remain close on January 8, ATMs and branch services might also be affected. While State Bank of India (SBI) has expected the effect to be minimal, several small banks fear that their operations will face a massive blow. Here’s a list of five points that you should know about the All-India general strike.

1. Participants in the Strike: The strike will be taken by various industrial trade unions, women’s and farmers’ collectives. This will be supported by left parties and Central trade unions. Unions participating in the strike include All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) and Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA). The All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), Labour Progressive Federation (LPF), United Trade Union Congress (UTUC), Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and Trade Union Coordination Centre (TUCC) will also take part.

2. Main Demand: The major demand of the Bharat Bandh is for government to drop the proposed labour reforms. The recently-passed bill has proposed to merge 44 labour laws into four codes — wages, industrial relations, social security and safe working conditions.

3. Other Demands: In addition to the opposition of labour reforms, the demands also include a raise in the minimum wage, stopping the privatisation of public sector undertakings and repealing the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR).

4. Bank unions in the strike: Six bank unions will go on strike, affecting ATMs and branch services. However, SBI and Syndicate Bank have assured smooth operation.

5. Keep in mind: If you are planning to withdraw cash, or keeping some important document work in bank for Wednesday, kindly postpone or prepone it. The net-banking will function 24*7; therefore, transfer of cash can be done online.