Nationwide bank strike hits branch services as unions press for five-day week
Branch banking across much of India was disrupted on Friday, 11 September, as employees and officers under the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) went on a one-day nationwide strike to press for a five-day banking week and the withdrawal of a revised performance-linked incentive scheme. The strike went ahead despite a request from the government to defer it because of the BRICS Leaders' Summit being held in New Delhi over the same days, according to reports in Business Today and Moneylife.
The UFBU is an umbrella body of bank employees' and officers' unions that together claim to represent more than 90 per cent of the banking workforce across public sector, private, foreign, regional rural and cooperative banks. Public sector banks, where union membership is strongest, were expected to see the greatest disruption.
What was affected
Services handled at the counter were the worst hit. According to Business Today, cash deposits and withdrawals, passbook updates, cheque clearing, locker access, KYC work, loan processing and back-office operations were all affected at branches where staff joined the strike. Digital channels such as UPI, mobile banking, internet banking and ATMs were expected to keep working.
Business Standard and Outlook Money noted that the timing meant customers in several states could face a four-day gap in branch services: the strike fell on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday followed, and Monday, 14 September, is a bank holiday in some states for Ganesh Chaturthi.
The demands
The unions' central demand is the implementation of a five-day banking week, which they say was agreed with the Indian Banks' Association on 8 March 2024 but is still awaiting Finance Ministry approval. The proposal would make all Saturdays holidays, with employees working an additional 40 minutes on weekdays to compensate.
The second flashpoint is the revised performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for senior officers of Scale IV and above. The unions have described it as "unilateral and discriminatory" and argue that the incentives for roughly 5 per cent of staff could cost more than those for the remaining 95 per cent combined, Business Today reported. Pension updation for retirees and other residual issues round out the charter.
The government's appeal and the unions' reply
Moneylife reported that the government asked the UFBU to postpone the action in view of the BRICS summit. In its response, the forum said it "regretted our inability to accede to their request to defer the strike" and called on all member unions to implement the strike on 11 September. The forum indicated it would reconsider only if there was a favourable decision, or at least a firm timeline, on the five-day week.
A three-phase campaign
Friday's action is the first of three phases announced by the UFBU. A three-day all-India strike is scheduled for 28 to 30 September, which coincides with the half-yearly closing of bank accounts, and an indefinite strike is planned from 26 October if the demands remain unresolved, according to Outlook Money and Business Today.
What happens next
Branches are expected to reopen normally on the next working day, and pending cheques and clearing work will be processed with a lag. The next test comes at the end of the month: unless the Finance Ministry and the Indian Banks' Association move on the five-day week or reopen talks on the PLI scheme, the unions have said they will proceed with the three-day strike on 28-30 September.