New Delhi, Sept 11: Banking services, particularly at public sector banks, were hit across the country on Friday as employees affiliated with the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) observed a nationwide strike demanding immediate implementation of a five-day work week.
The strike call given by the UFBU, an umbrella body of seven unions representing 90 per cent of officer and employee strength, however, did not impact the functioning of private sector banks.
Most branches of public sector banks across India were either completely or partially closed.
Services such as cash deposits, withdrawals, cheque clearances, and administrative work were hit at branches of most public sector banks (PSBs) and some old-generation private sector banks.
Reports coming from different parts of the country, including Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh indicated complete disruption of transactions at the branch level.
Madhya Pradesh Bank Employees Association Chairman Mohankrishna Shukla told PTI that around 42,000 employees and officers from nearly 7,000 of the state’s 8,707 bank branches joined the strike.
In Himachal Pradesh, bank employees and officers participated in large numbers to support their long-pending demands, particularly the implementation of a five-day banking system. Representatives from various banks and affiliated unions attended a protest demonstration to express their solidarity with the strike.
“The bank employees were compelled to resort to a strike to press for their legitimate demands,” said UFBU State Convener Narendra Sharma and All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) State President Ashutosh Sharma in a statement issued in Shimla.
Banking services, particularly at public sector banks, were affected across Jharkhand too.
“Services such as cash deposits, withdrawals, cheque clearances and administrative work were hit at branches of nationalised banks, State Bank of India and Gramin banks in the state,” said Umesh Das, deputy general secretary of the Bank of India Employees Union, Jharkhand.
Regarding the future course of action, All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC) General Secretary Rupam Roy said “if the government does not consider our demand, we would go for a three-day nationwide strike beginning September 28, coinciding with the half-yearly closure.”
All India Bank Employees’ Association General Secretary C H Venkatachalam said, “we have also decided to go on an indefinite strike from October 26 if our demands fall on deaf ears of the government and bank management.”
The unions are demanding declaration of all Saturdays as holidays, a key point that was reportedly agreed upon during the 12th Bipartite Settlement signed with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) in March 2024, but is awaiting government notification.
Currently, banks remain open on the first, third, and fifth Saturdays of a month.
The other residual demands, including updation and improvement of pension, a uniform dearness allowance formula for all pensioners and an option for employees covered under the National Pension System (NPS) to switch to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), also remain unresolved. (PTI)
