IDBI Bank employees started a two-day nationwide strike on November 2 to protest the planned privatisation. Over 10,000 staff members across 2,000 branches joined the agitation against the sale to Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. The bank shares fell 2.1 per cent on Monday as workers questioned the transparency of this deal.
IDBI Bank Ltd employees started a two-day nationwide strike on Monday to protest against the planned privatisation of the lender, calling on the federal government to scrap the sale to Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.
More than 10,000 staff across over 2,000 branches will participate in the agitation on November 2 and November 3, according to a statement by the United Forum of IDBI Officers & Employees posted on social media platform X.
IDBI Bank's shares ended 2.1 per cent lower in Mumbai on Monday compared to a 1.7 per cent jump in the benchmark NSE Nifty 50 Index.
The strike comes just weeks after Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa-led Fairfax agreed to acquire a 60.72 per cent stake in IDBI Bank, bringing the government's long-planned privatization of the lender a step closer to fruition. The transaction will be the biggest foreign investment in India's financial services sector.
The employees questioned the transparency of the sale process. The bank turned around following substantial public investment and sustained efforts by its workforce, the forum said, arguing that transferring control to a foreign entity raises "serious questions of public accountability and national interest."
After the deal was announced, Watsa assured employees there will be no job cuts, while the government pledged to protect their pension and service conditions, local media reported.