Bank Unions stick to three-day nationwide strike from Sep 28

New Delhi: The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on Tuesday said it would go ahead with its three-day nationwide strike from September 28 after conciliation talks with the government failed to produce a breakthrough.

The decision came after a meeting before the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner remained inconclusive. The talks were held a day after the Finance Ministry appealed to bank employees to refrain from striking and resolve their pending demands through dialogue.

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UFBU, which claims to represent around 90 percent of the banking workforce, is primarily demanding the introduction of a five-day banking week.

The proposed strike is scheduled for September 28, 29 and 30. With the preceding weekend being a holiday, banking services could face disruption for five consecutive days.

The strike also coincides with the half-yearly closing of banks on September 30, when reconciliation, provisioning, treasury and market-related operations assume greater importance.

UFBU seeks concrete move on five-day banking

UFBU said it told representatives of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Indian Banks' Association (IBA) and bank managements that it was willing to reconsider the strike if there was a concrete development on its key demand.

"If there is any concrete and positive development towards implementation of our demand for introduction of 5 days banking, UFBU will consider the same," the union grouping said after the conciliation meeting.

In the absence of such a development, however, UFBU said it would be "constrained to go ahead" with the three-day strike.

Representatives of the Finance Ministry told the unions that the five-day banking proposal remained under consideration but a decision would require taking into account the views of other stakeholders, according to UFBU.

The government consequently asked the unions to defer the strike and continue negotiations.

Pension among other demands

Apart from five-day banking, UFBU is seeking an update and improvement in pension benefits, a uniform dearness allowance formula for all pensioners and an option for employees covered under the National Pension System (NPS) to switch to the old pension scheme (OPS).

Bank unions under the UFBU banner had earlier observed a nationwide strike on September 11 over their demands.

Several public sector banks have begun advising customers to use digital banking channels, including mobile and internet banking, ATMs, business correspondent points and UPI, if the latest strike goes ahead.

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Government urges unions to avoid strike

The Finance Ministry on Monday appealed to bank employees to refrain from industrial action, arguing that strikes disrupt banking services, inconvenience customers and affect banks' business.

The government said such disruptions ultimately also hurt the interests of bank employees and maintained that outstanding issues should be addressed through dialogue.

It also said it remained committed to the welfare of bank employees and addressing their genuine concerns through constructive engagement.

If the strike goes ahead as scheduled, disruption around the preceding weekend and the September 30 half-yearly closing could affect branch-based customer services, business transactions and some banking operations, although digital channels are expected to remain available.

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