Banking operations across public sector banks (PSBs) in the country, which had gone on strike on January 27, will resume today, bringing respite to customers who were unable to access services such as cash deposits, withdrawals, cheque clearances, and administrative work at banks such as State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Bank of Baroda since January 25 (a Sunday; and January 26 being a Republic Day holiday).
The nationwide strike call by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions representing officers and employees of PSBs, was to press for the immediate implementation of a five-day work week after a conciliation meeting with the Chief Labour Commissioner on January 23 failed.
The All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary, CH Venkatachalam, said they were “compelled to proceed with the strike action” when the conciliation discussions led to no assurance on their demand.
Rupam Roy, General Secretary of the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), said the decision to declare all Saturdays as holidays was agreed between the Indian Banks’ Association and the UFBU during the wage revision settlement in March 2024, but not implemented.
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Currently, banks remain open on the first, third, and fifth Saturdays of every month. Declaration of all Saturdays as holidays was a key point agreed upon during the 12th bipartite settlement signed with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) in March 2024, but awaiting government notification.
“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,” he informed.
L Chandrasekhar, General Secretary of National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE) said the movement for reduced banking days is “not against customers, but for a sustainable, humane, and efficient banking system”.
“A rested banker serves the nation better. A balanced workforce strengthens financial stability. Five-day banking is not a luxury; it is an economic and human necessity,” he added.
Meanwhile, with digital banking services, including UPI and internet banking continuing to work despite the strike, inconvenience faced by customers was relatively less, although operations at private lenders were unaffected.
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