Banking operations across the country came to a halt on Tuesday as 10 lakh bankers staged a strike against the government's 'anti-people banking reforms'.
The strike was called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), comprising nine unions.
They also pressed for compensation to employees for extra work done on account of demonetisation.
"Around 85,000 branches of commercial banks, 105,000 branches of co-operative bank and others are on strike," said C.H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary, All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA).
He said clearance of about 40 lakh cheques totalling around Rs 22,000 crore would be affected.
The strike covers employees and officers across all public sector banks, including State Bank of India, all old-generation private banks, foreign banks, regional rural banks and cooperative banks.
Venkatachalam said the shutdown comes after all attempts to find a solution to the demands raised by the unions yielded no results.
