Bank employee unions have called for a nationwide strike on January 27 for their long pending demand of 5 days working. The strike was announced on January 23 and, if it goes as planned, will cause major disruption in public sector banking operations.
advance notice to customers
Most public sector banks have already informed their customers about the possibility of disruption in banking services in the event of a strike.
Why is the strike of 27th January a big problem?
The possible strike on January 27 will cause further disruption in public sector banking operations. Because, 24th was second Saturday, 25th was Sunday and banks were closed on 26th due to national holiday.
Strike has no effect on private banks
This strike will not affect the operations of branches of big private sector banks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Unions meeting failed
The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) in a statement said it was going ahead with the strike as its meetings with the Chief Labor Commissioner on Wednesday and Thursday yielded no results. UFBU is a group of nine major bank unions, representing employees and officers of public sector banks and some older private banks in India.
Demand for a five-day work week
The decision to declare all Saturdays as holidays was taken during the wage revision agreement reached between the Indian Banks Association and UFBU in March 2024. “It is unfortunate that the government is not responding to our legitimate demand. There will be no reduction in working hours as we have agreed to work an additional 40 minutes daily from Monday to Friday,” the UFBU had said earlier this month. The UFBU said the RBI, LIC, GIC, stock exchanges and government offices are already following a five-day work week and there is no justification for the banks being left behind.