Good news! No bank strike today after yesterday's 9:30 session; Top 4 Takeaways from AIBA-UFBU Debate — Full Details

The three-day nationwide bank strike scheduled for September 28 was postponed to September 30 following a meeting of the Indian Banks Association (IBA) and the United Forum of Banking Unions (UFBU) on Sunday.

The strike was called to demand, among other things, a five-day working week for bank employees and reforms related to performance-linked incentives (PLIs).

The UFBU had earlier observed a one-day strike on September 11 and planned a three-day nationwide strike on September 28, 29 and 30. The union has also warned that it may go on indefinite strike from October 26 if its demands remain unresolved.

However, just a day before the planned strike, the UFBU announced that “proposed agitation programs and strike actions will be postponed…”

The decision came after a meeting between the IBA and UFBU at 9.30pm on Sunday.

Four insights from the meeting

After due negotiations between IBA and UFBU, it was decided that:

A. A high level committee of the IBA and UFBU will be formed immediately to discuss the issue of declaring the remaining Saturdays as holidays. This committee will explore all possible alternatives, consult with all interested parties, and develop a solution acceptable to all interested parties, and more importantly, to the customers.

B. In respect of PLI scheme for officials at Grade IV and above, discussions may be initiated with IBA with a view to proposing modifications to the scheme to the Government to respond to the comments of the Unions/Associations.

C. The remaining matters listed in the minutes of 3/8/2024 will be discussed between the parties for the purpose of an expedited resolution.

D. In view of the above, it has been agreed by the UFBU that the proposed agitation programs and strike action will be postponed.

Key requirements of banking unions

Shiv Shankar Singh, labor president of the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), had earlier said, “Our persistent demand has been a 5-day working week in banking. The 12th bipartite settlement, which was signed on March 8, 2024, along with nine joint notes, was signed between the IBA (on behalf of the government) and the UFBU.”

“The 5-day banking provision was part of this agreement. It has been more than two-and-a-half years now, yet it has not been implemented even though it should have been implemented immediately. We are against the government, we are government employees,” he said.

“All the 12 Public Sector Banks (PSBs) are Government of India enterprises and we are its employees. We implement every single initiative of the government, but unfortunately the government has to reflect on this too,” he added.