Total banking-system is likely to be paralyzed with bank-officers and other staff-unions of public-sector banks going on strike on 21st December 2018 and 26th December 2018 with only 24th December 2018 being the banking-day with three holidays of Saturday, Sunday and Christmas Day. It is unfortunate that officers and staff-unions conspirated to have strike on two nearing different dates in a bid to paralyze banking-system harassing common public.
Bank-strike has become a usual phenomenon requiring some permanent solution. Recommendations of pay-commissions should be applicable for all public-sector-undertakings including banks. Even persons on top posts like President, Vice President and Supreme Court judges should get salaries and post-retirement benefits equivalent to highest-paid bureaucrat.
To overcome extra expenditure so caused by bringing bank-staff at parity with government-employees, complete plan of merger of all public-sector banks in some selected anchor-banks should be implemented at the earliest for drastic cut in overheads due to so many different banks and further possibility of merger of nearing bank-branches. Shortage of staff will turn into excess of staff which can provide much-needed seven-day-per week banking-services without any holiday by giving employees two rather than present one-and-half weekly holiday.
SUBHASH CHANDRA AGRAWAL