Banking services in the public sector banks were affected today due to a strike by Unions against the proposed merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda.

The strike has been called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) – an umbrella organisation of all 9 unions including the All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC), the All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE) and the National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW).

According to AIBEA General Secretary C H Vekatachalam, the strike is effective across the country and employees are fighting for a right cause.

However, branches of new generation private sector banks remain unaffected by the strike called by UFBU, which claims to have membership of nearly 10 lakh bank employees and officers across 21 public sector banks.

This is the second bank strike in less than a week.

Last Friday (December 21), an officers' union of state-run banks observed a day-long strike to protest against the merger and also demanded immediate settlement of wage negotiations.

Most of the banks have already informed customers about the strike.