Explained: Why the 3-day bank strike was postponed and why it was announced for September 28, 29, 30 – what changed in between? | Today’s news
Proposed three-day nationwide bank strike from September 28 to 30 on Sunday. The decision was announced by the United Forum of Banking Unions (UFBU) in a circular issued on 27 September
Why did the bank unions announce a strike for September 28-30? Why was it delayed? What has changed in the meantime? Here’s everything you need to know
Why did the bank unions announce a strike for September 28-30?
The United Forum of Banking Unions (UFBU), the umbrella body of seven unions representing 90 percent of officials and employees, has announced a three-day nationwide strike from September 28 to 30 to demand the introduction of a five-day banking week.
Banks were operating on Sunday (September 27) to avoid disruption to banking services as the proposed strike followed the holiday weekend of September 26 and 27.
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The strike was called to demand the introduction of a five-day banking week, with all Saturdays a holiday, following unresolved commitments from past agreements.
The strike was called off after a meeting between the Association of Indian Banks and the UFBU, which led to the formation of a high-level committee to discuss their demands.
The main demands include the introduction of a five-day banking week, abolition of performance-related incentive schemes and resolution of issues through bilateral discussions.
Banks opened on 27 September to ease disruption to customer services ahead of the planned strike and to ensure availability after the weekend with no normal services.
The committee is expected to explore alternatives to the five-day banking week requirement and work towards a solution acceptable to all parties involved.
The UFBU had earlier staged a one-day strike on September 11. The next strike was scheduled for three consecutive days – September 28, 29 and 30. She warned that an indefinite nationwide strike would begin on October 26 if their demands were not met.
According to the UFBU’s official statement, the union made four main demands:
1. Introduction of a 5-day banking week; declaration of all Saturdays as holidays
2. Abolish government performance linked incentive (PLI) programs.
3. Modification of the incentive scheme through bilateral negotiations; non-discriminatory incentive system for employees and managers
The All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) said on September 9 that two rounds of online meetings were held. “There was no concrete result in the five-day work week,” the union said.
Speaking at a press conference in Shimla recently, UFBU Himachal Pradesh convenor and president of Bankers United Forum of Himachal Pradesh, Narendra Sharma, said that the union is forced to resort to industrial action as the commitments made in the agreement with the government more than two-and-a-half years ago have not yet been implemented.
“Our main demand is to introduce a five-day banking week with Saturday and Sunday as weekly holidays. The second main issue is withdrawal of the new performance-linked incentive scheme unilaterally introduced by the financial services ministry,” Sharma said, according to ANI.
“More than two and a half years have passed since the signing of the agreement, but the commitments made in it have still not been implemented. So we have no choice but to resort to agitation,” he said.
What is it about?
Right now, two Saturdays (second and fourth of the month) are holidays; the remaining Saturdays (first, third and fifth) are working days. “We agreed to extend working hours from Monday to Friday, so we asked that all Saturdays be holidays,” he said.
According to the union, the banks agreed in principle to switch to a five-day work week in 2015, when the second and fourth Saturdays were declared holidays. The issue was revisited in 2020 and later formalized through a wage settlement signed on March 8, 2024.
Under this arrangement, bank employees agreed to work an extra 40 minutes each day, Monday through Friday, in exchange for declaring all Saturdays a holiday.
The union said the deal was recommended to the Treasury more than two years ago but is still awaiting government approval.
Why was the three-day bank strike postponed? What has changed in the meantime?
Bank unions were expected to stage a nationwide bank strike from September 28 to 30. However, the strike was postponed after a meeting of the Indian Banks Association (IBA) and the United Forum of Banking Unions (UFBU) at 9.30 pm on Sunday.
Key decisions were taken during the meeting:
According to the UFBU circular, “a high-level committee of the IBA and the UFBU will be constituted immediately to discuss the demand to declare the remaining Saturdays as holidays and explore alternatives to arrive at a solution acceptable to all stakeholders and customers.”
On the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for officials at Grade IV and above, both sides agreed that discussions could begin with the IBA suggesting adjustments to the government to address the comments raised by unions and associations.
The circular stated that the remaining matters mentioned in the minutes of March 8, 2024 would also be brought up for discussion for early resolution.
“In view of the above, it has been agreed by the UFBU that the proposed agitation programs and strike actions will be postponed,” the circular further stated.
