While bank mergers may be logical from the perspective of consolidation of operations, it is the fundamental attitude towards work that cries out for change. On the face of it, the four central unions of bank officers have called a two-day strike on September 26 (Thursday) and 27th (Friday) to protest against the recent merger of ten public sector banks into four entities. It is more than obvious that the plan of action has been carefully calibrated, indeed to dislocate banking and inconvenience people and industry to the extent possible. Not the least because the agitprop over two days will be suffixed with a bank holiday, the fourth Saturday (28th) and Sunday (29th).

While the merger is a settled fact, banking operations will be thrown out of joint for four days and during the last weekend ahead of the pujas, when purchase and sale are largely dependent on banking transactions, not to forget the plight of small traders. The economic boom during the pujas is a remarkable facet to the festival calendar. Hoi-polloi must be grateful for small mercies.

The shutters will be up for two days on September 30 and October 1, and one can well imagine the choc-a-bloc crowd on both days after a fourday break. The two-day “respite” from idleness will be followed by Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. It is a fair guess that the unions of both officers and other employees will grudge the reopening on the 3rd and 4th amidst the puja euphoria, and then a four-day break till October 9. In real terms, from September 26 to October 9 ~ a 14-day span ~ the bank staff will condescend to function for barely four days.

How considerate! It is an unmistakable extension of the puja vacation and is almost of a piece with the extended holidays granted by the West Bengal government. The attitude makes a mockery of the concept of bank consolidation, let alone the supposedly beneficial effects of mergers. Sad to reflect, the arrogated right “not to work” has thus been accorded precedence over concerted operations that alone can ensure consolidation of banking. Far from it. The disruption will stretch to nearly a fortnight. Not to put too fine a point on it, a segment of the organised sector has betrayed the soul of irresponsibility.

And as often happens during strikes and closures, the ATMs tend to run out of currency. As yet, there is no firm assurance on regular ATM refills by the management. The queues in front of the kiosks can be much too forbidding for customers and the bank staff as well. The general holiday prefix and suffix to strikes ought to be a strict “no no”. The overall scenario can be as chaotic as the country’s economy, a reflection of the professional sloth of bank employees. It is the bank customer who is the victim of deception.