Public sector bank employees will be observing a nationwide strike on Wednesday (December 18) after the labour department and the various banks’ union leaders failed to reach a consensus on the issue of wage revision.

The strike has been called by the united forum of bank unions (UFBU), a consortium of various bank unions.

The bank employees had been demanding a wage revision in the light of overshooting inflation and their increasing workload.

(Also read: PSU bank staff wage a war for wage hike)

In addition, the unions are also against the recent banking reforms being introduced by the reserve bank of India (RBI) which includes issue of new bank licences to corporate and the near-national treatment being promised to foreign banks setting up wholly-owned subsidiaries in the country.

“The attitudes of the Indian Banks Association (IBA), government of India and Reserve Bank of India are clearly against the interest of bank workforce, interest of the nation and above all interest of depositors, who have invested hard earned savings in the public sector banks. Inspite of the standing committee on finance opposing the proposal of granting new licences to corporates, RBI is bent upon going ahead with the exercise.  PSBs have stood the test of time under the regulatory regime and they are the nation buildings instruments.  These institutions are to be protected, preserved and also promoted,” the UFBU has said in a circular issued to all the unions.