Bank Strike Postponed: Services To Operate Normally After Unions Defer 3-Day Agitation

The proposed three-day nationwide bank strike has been deferred after the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) reached an agreement following late-night talks on Sunday.

The meeting began at around 9:30 pm, just hours before the strike was due to start on Monday. Following the discussions, the UFBU announced that it would defer the planned strike and agitation.

The immediate focus will be on the long-pending demand for a five-day banking week. The IBA and UFBU have agreed to constitute a high-level committee to examine the proposal to declare all Saturdays other than the second and fourth Saturdays as holidays.

The committee will look at possible alternatives and consult stakeholders, including customers, before working towards a solution acceptable to all sides.

IBA-UFBU To Review PLI Scheme

The two sides also agreed to begin discussions on the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for officers in Scale IV and above.

The IBA will examine the concerns raised by unions and officers’ associations and consider proposing suitable changes to the government.

Residual matters recorded in the minutes of the March 8, 2024 meeting will also be taken up on an expedited basis, according to the UFBU.

Banking Services To Continue As Usual

The strike had been scheduled for three days beginning Monday, coinciding with the half-yearly closing of banks.

With the strike deferred, bank branches are expected to function normally on Monday, avoiding the disruption that could have affected customers at a time when many banking transactions are carried out for the half-year closing.

Had the strike proceeded, services including cash deposits and withdrawals, cheque processing and other branch-level operations could have been affected, particularly at public sector banks, old-generation private banks and regional rural banks.

Digital and online banking services were expected to remain operational.

Unions Had Warned Of Indefinite Strike

The proposed three-day strike came after a nationwide one-day bank strike on September 11.

The UFBU had also warned of an indefinite strike from October 26 if its demands remained unresolved.

Apart from the five-day working week, the unions have been seeking action on pension-related benefits, dearness allowance for pensioners and an option for employees covered under the National Pension System (NPS) to move to the Old Pension Scheme.

The five-day banking week has been a longstanding demand of bank employees’ unions, which have pointed to the five-day schedule followed by several government departments and financial institutions.

The latest agreement does not settle all the demands but opens a fresh round of discussions between the IBA and bank unions, while averting the immediate three-day strike.