Why bank employees are on strike today across India
What's the story
Banking services, especially in public sector banks, were disrupted on Friday after the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) called for a nationwide strike. The strike was observed by both employees and officers across most branches of public sector banks. However, private sector banks remained unaffected by the UFBU's call. The UFBU is an umbrella organization of seven unions representing 90% of officer and employee strength in the banking sector.
Participation
Indefinite strike from October 26 if demands not met
According to CH Venkatachalam, General Secretary of the All India Bank Employees's Association (AIBEA), nearly 800,000 employees, officers, and managers participated in the strike.
The UFBU has planned a one-day strike today and a three-day nationwide protest from September 28-30.
If their demands are not met by then, an indefinite nationwide strike will begin on October 26.
Strike demands
Main demands of the unions
The UFBU has raised four main demands, including the implementation of a five-day banking week and resolution of pending wage-related issues.
They also want all Saturdays declared as holidays, withdrawal of government's performance-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, and modification through bilateral talks to ensure non-discriminatory incentives for employees and officers.
The unions are pushing for a five-day workweek in line with an agreement reached during the 12th Bipartite Settlement signed with Indian Banks's Association (IBA) in March 2024.
Workweek details
Currently, two Saturdays are holidays
Currently, two Saturdays (the second and fourth of the month) are holidays while the rest are working days.
"We have agreed to extra working hours from Monday to Friday, and so we have asked for all Saturdays to be holidays," Venkatachalam said.
The unions claim banks agreed in principle to a five-day week in 2015 when they declared second and fourth Saturdays as holidays.