Bank employees in the country have proposed that the Reserve Bank of India suspend banking operations until it can supply branches with adequate currency notes to meet the demands of serpentine queues since demonetisation, The Economic Times reported. Some bank unions are planning a strike if the situation escalates. The union said the demonetisation exercise is taking a toll on employees’ “physical and mental health”, Business Standard reported.

The All India Bank Employees’ Association’s chief CH Venkatachalam said, “The RBI should take a view to stop banking operations for 15 days till adequate money is available.” Referring to the Centre’s drive as an “unplanned move”, Venkatachalam said, “Everyone supports removal of black money – but this will not remove black money and is harassing ordinary people and bank employees.” However, the leader of the country’s largest national trade union centre of bank employees said they had ruled out a strike for now as it would inconvenience people further, The Economic Times reported.

Several people, many of them elderly, have died while standing in long queues to exchange their money and many have killed themselves after thinking that their life’s savings have been reduced to nothing. In November, a 56-year-old bank manager in Haryana’s Rohtak district died after reportedly working three days and nights at a stretch, reported Hindustan Times. A bank employee in Pune died of heart attack on November 16 after working 12-hour shifts handling large crowds. Deaths have also been reported after hospitals refused to treat patients because they furnished old notes.

The Supreme Court had observed that the long queues outside banks could even lead to riots. The move to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes sparked a huge controversy, and the Centre has received immense flak for the decision, though it has constantly defended it. The exercise has caused both Houses of Parliament to come to a standstill.