New Delhi, May 29: With the two-day pan-India bank strike beginning from tomorrow, concern looms whether ATM transactions and salary credit would be affected. The strike has been called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) -- an umbrella body of bank unions -- to protest against meagre 2 per cent hike for the bank employees proposed by the Centre.

Among the near-one million employees would would participate in the strike, include ATM guards of major public sector banks. This, analysts claim, could lead to some ATMs remaining shut on May 30-31, due to security concerns.

A vast section of the salaried class is likely to be impacted by as their salary credit, which usually takes place on the 31st of the month, may get delayed due to the bank strike.

The decision to go ahead with the strike was finalised after the meeting between the Indian Bank Association (IBA) and Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) failed to yield results.

Although both the sides claimed they were open to negotiations, a middle-ground could not be reached in the talks held on May 7. The government was vehement on using 2 per cent as the incrementing factor of our salaries, the UFBU claimed, adding, "This is not at all acceptable, considering the rise in cost of living."

Since 2012, the salaries of bank workforce was hiked by 10-15 per cent. The government, however, decided to slash it down to 2 per cent from this year citing stressed loans and non-performing assets.

The UFBU said this would not only cause "massive injustice" to the employees, but also cause an "irreparable damage to their morale". "The volume of business and the volume of work of the employees and officers have gone up enormously in the recent years," the consolidated body of unions added in its statement.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 29, 2018 04:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).