• Cash transactions, check clearance will be stopped?


• Strike of employees for 5 day work week


• Bank transactions are likely to be disrupted across the country

Bank Employees Strike News: If you are planning to visit your bank on January 27th, check if your bank is closed on Tuesday. Bank employee unions have announced a nationwide strike on January 27 for their pending demand for a five-day work week. The strike has been called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU). Banking services across the country are likely to be affected.

The main demand of the bank employees is the implementation of a five-day working week and two-day holiday in banks. UFBU says that in the March 2024 wage revision agreement with the Indian Banks Association (IBA), the agreement to give all Saturdays off is yet to be implemented. Bank employees are protesting the delay.

At present, bank employees get holiday only on second and fourth Saturday of every month. In addition, banks are open on other Saturdays, so employees have to work two weeks six days a month. Organizations say that this system is no longer appropriate with the times.

All major public sector banks across the country including State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Indian Bank and other public sector banks will participate in the strike. Bank employees have already started protests in several cities and have threatened to intensify their agitation if their demands are not met. Also, unions say employees are willing to work approximately 40 minutes extra each day, Monday through Friday, to avoid a reduction in total weekly work hours. The proposal has been submitted to the government, but no final decision has been taken for the past two years.

The strike will start from the midnight of January 26 and will continue till the midnight of January 27. Banking services across the country are likely to be affected, including cash transactions, check clearance and other branch- operations. According to the unions, despite the agreement signed between IBA and UFBU on December 7, 2023 and a joint note issued on March 8, 2024, the final government approval is yet to be received.

The demand for a five-day work week is not new. It started in 2015, when banks were mandated to be closed on the second and fourth Saturdays. Negotiations followed several times, but the final decision on all remaining Saturdays has not yet been made. The unions say that they are forced to strike again due to lack of concrete progress in the negotiations in the last nine months. Therefore, the public is advised to complete their necessary banking activities before January 27.