Bank unions have decided to continue with their planned three-day strike from September 28 to 30 despite appeals from the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and bank managements to postpone the action.
The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) said there had been no progress on its key demand for introducing a five-day banking week.
“We call upon all our unions and members to go ahead and implement the call for three days strike September 28, 29, and 30,” the UFBU said in a statement.
The strike call has been supported by unions representing public sector banks and regional rural banks. Their demands include implementation of a five-day work week and withdrawal of the performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
Talks fail to resolve five-day banking demand
The government has kept the PLI scheme in abeyance, but unions said the five-day banking week issue remains unresolved. The UFBU had earlier held a one-day strike on September 11 and has announced an indefinite strike from October 26 if its demands are not addressed.
“Today we had a conciliation meeting. Our main demand is introduction of five days banking per week. They did not agree, so we are going ahead with our strike call,” said C H Venkatachalam, general secretary of the All India Bank Employees Association.
The September 28-30 strike, combined with the preceding weekend, could lead to an effective five-day disruption of banking services.
Govt urges dialogue as unions raise concerns
A conciliation meeting chaired by the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner in New Delhi was attended by representatives of the UFBU, IBA, DFS and bank managements.
The government and IBA said the five-day banking proposal was under consideration but required consultation with stakeholders.
The UFBU alleged that some bank managements were attempting to discourage employees from joining the strike and termed such measures unfair labour practices.
The Finance Ministry said strikes disrupt banking services and affect customers, businesses and employees. It urged unions to resolve issues through discussions.
Public sector banks, including Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda, also appealed to employees to avoid participating in the strike and ensure uninterrupted services for customers.
