Bank unions plan strike on 26 December against BoB-Vijaya-Dena merger; govt, banks to go ahead with decision

New Delhi: Bank unions on Saturday called for a nationwide strike on 26 December to protest the proposed merger of Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank.

The Narendra Modi government had in September approved the merger  of the three public sector banks.

The strike will be organised by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine employee and officer unions.

The government and the three banks were moving ahead with their decision for amalgamation and hence it was decided to give the call for a strike, All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C H Venkatachalam said.

All unions under UFBU will participate in this strike call, said Ashwani Rana, vice president of the National Organisation of Bank Workers.

Following the government nod, the respective boards of these banks had given their approval for the amalgamation.

The merged entity will be the third-largest lender  in the country after State Bank of India (SBI) and HDFC Bank.

As at June-end, the total business size of the three entities together was Rs 14.82 lakh crore.

Of the three banks, Dena Bank is the weakest, with non-performing asset (NPA) ratio of 11.04 percent and business of Rs 1.72 lakh crore, as compared with 5.4 per cent NPA and Rs 10.2 lakh crore business of Bank of Baroda and 4.10 percent NPA and Rs 2 lakh crore worth business of Vijaya Bank.