Mumbai, Mar 16: Banking services in the state were affected on the second and last day of the pan-India bank strike as around half a lakh employees of public sector banks, old generation private sector and foreign banks did not attend work. Services like cash withdrawals, cheque clearances and other business related transactions were hit across the state.

The two-day nationwide strike of bank employees and officers, which started on March 15, has been called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions, to protest against the government's decision to privatise two more state-run banks. Bank Strike in India, Day 2: Bank Employees in Maharashtra Continue Their Protest For Second Day Today (See Pics).

Last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced privatisation of two public sector banks (PSBs) as part of the government's disinvestment plan in the Union Budget for the next fiscal.

Unions claimed that on March 15, about 2 crore cheques/ instruments worth about Rs 16,500 crore were not cleared across the country. Many ATMs were also out of cash on the first day itself.

In Mumbai, around 86 lakh cheques/ instruments worth Rs 6,500 crore were not cleared on Monday, bank union leaders have claimed.

All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) in a statement had said that privatisation of banks is a negative step in a developing economy like India.

“Indian public sector banks represent the hard-earned savings of the people. Privatisation of banks would risk their savings as many private banks in the past have collapsed and people lost their savings,” AIBEA had said in a statement.

Many state-run banks had informed their customers to use digital channels like internet or mobile banking, ATM services for making transactions.

Members of UFBU include All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA) and Bank Employees Confederation of India (BEFI).

Others are Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO).

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