The nationwide bank strike scheduled for September 28 to 30 has been deferred after a late-night meeting between the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on September 27.
The meeting was held at 9:30 pm, only hours before the three-day strike was due to begin. The UFBU later announced that its planned strike and agitation programmes had been deferred.
The two sides agreed to set up a high-level committee on the five-day week and to reopen talks on the PLI scheme.
Why were bank employees planning a strike?
The main demand was a five-day banking week, with all Saturdays and Sundays treated as holidays.
Banks currently observe holidays on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month, along with Sundays. Bank unions have been seeking holidays on all Saturdays.
The demand dates back to the agreement reached between the IBA and employee unions and officers’ associations on March 8, 2024, under the 12th Bipartite Settlement and 9th Joint Note. The IBA had recommended that all Saturdays be declared holidays for the banking industry, but implementation has remained pending.
The unions have also raised concerns over the PLI scheme for Scale IV and above officers and other unresolved matters.
The government has said it had already kept the PLI scheme in abeyance and that discussions were continuing on the remaining demand for a five-day workweek. It also said a one-day strike took place on September 11, while the three-day strike was scheduled for September 28-30 and an indefinite strike had been proposed from October 26.
Sunday banking
Before the strike was deferred, the government directed all public sector banks and Regional Rural Banks to operate on Sunday, September 27.
The Reserve Bank of India approved the operation of bank branches, offices, ATM-linked branches and currency chests that day. The government said the move was necessary because September 26 and 27 were the preceding weekend holidays before the proposed three-day strike.
The government and bank management had also appealed to the unions to defer the strike and said steps were being taken to keep essential banking services running.
A PTI photograph from September 27 showed customers at a bank in Navi Mumbai ahead of the proposed strike.
What was agreed
The new IBA-UFBU committee will examine the proposal to make the remaining Saturdays holidays and consider possible alternatives after consulting stakeholders.
The two sides will also discuss changes to the PLI scheme for Scale IV and above officers. The remaining issues listed in the minutes of the March 8, 2024 discussions will also be taken up.
R Sekaran, president of the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation, told NDTV that the committee would include representatives of the UFBU.
“The committee will deliberate on this demand after consulting all stakeholders,” Sekaran said.
The UFBU circular dated September 27 records the deferment following the IBA meeting.
