State Bank of India's operations throughout the country were crippled today, with officers and employees going on an indefinite strike seeking enhanced pension package, even as the Delhi high court restrained them from hampering work.
"The banking services have substantially suffered," SBI managing director T S Bhattacharya told PTI.
The court also restrained them from staging protests within 500 metres of any branch of the bank, following which unions decided to shift the venue of their protest in the national capital to Raj Ghat.
Describing the strike in the country's largest commercial bank as "total", the All India State Bank Officers Association claimed that clearing operations came to a grinding halt.
"The strike is total with the entire branch network of the bank participating in the agitation," AISBOA general secretary Shantha Raju said.
The strike affected the call money and forex markets, in which SBI is a major player. The bank, which has 9,000 branches and over 200,000 employees, handles 19 per cent of total deposits and 30 per cent of customers in the banking industry.
Union Minister of State for Labour Chandrasekhar Sahu renewed his appeal to the workers to call off the protest, but the employees, who are demanding, among other things, 50 per cent of last salary drawn as pension, said the ball was in the government's court.
The reconciliation meeting between the SBI employees, representatives of management and finance ministry failed.
Another reconciliation meeting is scheduled for April 5.