The strike organized by All Indian Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) on September 7 affected bannking services in the states governed by Left parties like West Bengal and Kerala. Other states however received a luke warm response to the strike.

The strike was supported by as many as eight central trade unions, including the CPI (M)-affiliated CITU and INTUC of the Congress regarding burning issues like price rise, the disinvestment policy of the government and "violation" of labour laws.

The banking sector currently houses around 10 lakh employees of which nearly 5 lakh participated in the strike.

The financial hub of the country, Mumbai received partial hit by the strike.

However, the largest lender of the country, State Bank of India did not participate in the strike.

"It is a new chapter opened in the post-independent labour movement of our country wherein the entire working class -- organised and unorganised -- raised the voice of protest against the government's policy of liberalisation and privatisation," said AIBEA Secretary Vishwas Utagi.