Three-Day Nationwide Bank Strike Deferred After IBA-UFBU Understanding
The proposed three-day nationwide bank strike scheduled for September 28 to 30 has been deferred after the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) reached an understanding during a meeting on Sunday night.
The UFBU announced the decision in a circular issued on September 27 following a meeting with the IBA that began at 9:30 pm.
What Was Agreed Between the IBA and UFBU?
According to the UFBU circular, a high-level committee comprising representatives from the IBA and UFBU will be established immediately to examine the demand for declaring the remaining Saturdays as holidays.
The committee will consider possible alternatives, consult relevant stakeholders and work towards a solution that is acceptable to all parties, including bank customers.
The demand for a five-day banking week was one of the main issues behind the proposed strike. The matter has remained under consideration, while the finance ministry had earlier stated that it had made no commitment to introduce a five-day banking schedule.
Regarding the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for officers in Scale IV and above, the two sides agreed to begin discussions. The IBA will consider proposing modifications to the government to address concerns raised by unions and employee associations.
The IBA and UFBU will also discuss the remaining issues mentioned in the minutes of their March 8, 2024 meeting, with the objective of resolving them as soon as possible.
Following these developments, the UFBU agreed to defer the proposed agitation programmes and strike actions.
Why Was the Strike Planned?
The UFBU had announced the nationwide strike from September 28 to 30 over several demands, with the introduction of a five-day banking week among its principal concerns.
The unions were also seeking improvements in pension benefits, a uniform dearness allowance formula for pensioners and an option for employees covered under the National Pension System (NPS) to move to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
Banking unions had previously staged a nationwide strike on September 11. A conciliation meeting held earlier in the week ended without a settlement, after which the UFBU had indicated that it would proceed with the September 28-30 strike unless there was concrete progress on the five-day banking demand.
Banks Had Opened on Sunday
The proposed strike came immediately after weekend holidays on September 26 and 27. To minimise the impact on banking services, the government had directed public sector banks and regional rural banks to operate normally on Sunday.
The Reserve Bank of India had also permitted bank branches, offices, ATM-linked branches and currency chests to remain operational on Sunday. Bank of India had separately approved similar arrangements.
The timing of the proposed strike was particularly significant because September 30 marks the half-yearly closing of banks. The period involves several important activities, including reconciliation, provisioning, treasury operations and market-related work.
With the UFBU now deferring the strike and other planned agitation programmes, the immediate disruption that had been expected between September 28 and 30 will not take place, according to the union body’s circular.
