Bank employee unions have decided to go on a nationwide strike on January 27 to press for their long-pending demand for a five-day work week. If the strike goes ahead, public sector banking operations will be disrupted for three consecutive days, as January 25 and 26 fall on holidays. Most public sector banks have already informed customers about the possible disruption in banking services if the strike materialises.
In response to the strike notice served by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), the Chief Labour Commissioner held conciliation meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, the union body said in a statement. UFBU is an umbrella organisation of nine unions representing bank officers and employees.
"Besides representatives of the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) and various banks, officials from the Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the Ministry of Finance were present. From UFBU, all nine unions participated. Despite detailed discussions, there was no positive outcome from the conciliation proceedings," the statement said. As a result, it was decided to go ahead with the strike on January 27.
At present, bank employees get the second and fourth Saturdays off every month, apart from Sundays. The decision to declare all Saturdays as holidays was agreed upon between the IBA and UFBU during the wage revision settlement in March 2024.
"It is unfortunate that the government is not responding to our genuine demand. There would be no loss of man-hours, as we have agreed to work an extra 40 minutes daily from Monday to Friday," UFBU had said earlier this month.
The union body pointed out that institutions such as the RBI, LIC, GIC, stock exchanges and government offices already follow a five-day work week, arguing that there is no justification for banks to lag behind.
UFBU represents employees and officers across public sector banks and some old-generation private banks. However, the strike may not impact operations at major private sector banks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
