Bank Strike Today: What employees want and how customers may be impacted

Bank Strike Today: Banking operations in public sector banks across the country have been affected on Tuesday, January 27, due to a one-day strike organised by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU). The bank unions cited several long-pending demands as the reason for the strike.

Why has the strike been organised?

The strike is called by various bank employee unions, whose leaders said the protest was peaceful and aimed at drawing the government's attention to unresolved issues. Despite the strike, union leaders said efforts are made to minimise inconvenience to customers.

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When was this decision taken?

The decision to strike was taken after the problem was not resolved in the conciliation meeting held with the Chief Labour Commissioner on January 23. Banks had informed customers about the strike in advance, and alternative services such as ATMs and digital banking platforms are kept operational.

Five-Day Work Week: Key demand of bank unions

Speaking to ANI, Sanjay Kuthe, General Secretary of the Indian Bank Officers Association for Maharashtra and Goa, said the demand for a five-day workweek has been pending for a long time.
"We demand the government to implement five-day working days for employees in a week. It is a long pending demand and has been delayed by over 2 years," he said.

Kuthe added that the strike would not significantly impact customers, as prior arrangements had been made. "However, there will be no major issue for the bank customers as we have already informed them from before and all our ATMs and digital services are operative," he said.

Peaceful protests across states

Wilbur Anton, general secretary of the Maharashtra-based National Bank Employees Union, also expressed similar views, saying the protests were being carried out in a peaceful and disciplined manner.

"We are doing a silent and peaceful protest, seeking a five-day work per week for all the bank employees," Anton told ANI.

He further said that the demand for reducing the working week has been raised repeatedly but it has not been resolved yet. "We have been demanding the five-day per workweek for a long time and still the issue has not been resolved," he said.

Steps taken to minimise customer inconvenience

Allaying concerns about inconvenience to the public, Anton said banks have taken steps to ensure that customers are not affected. "We have already informed our bank customers regarding the closure of banking operations for today. Also, we have filled the ATMs for our customers and all our digital processes are working," he said.

Which banking services are affected due to the strike?

The one-day strike disrupted branch-level banking services in many parts of the country, affecting services like cash withdrawals and deposits across counters. However, digital banking services, mobile banking applications and ATM services continued to function normally, allowing customers to access essential banking facilities.

Unions warn of further action

Bank unions say a five-day work week will help improve work-life balance for employees and align the banking sector with other segments of the financial industry. They have urged the government to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

The unions said Tuesday's strike is limited to one day, but further action could be taken if their demands are not met.

FAQs

Q1. What is UFBU?
The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) is a joint platform of nine unions representing officers and employees of public sector banks.

Q2. Are banks completely closed due to the strike?
Yes, branch-level banking services are completely closed due to the strike, such as cash withdrawal and deposit over the counter.

Q3. Are digital banking services also down due to the strike?
No. Digital banking services, mobile banking applications and ATM services are operating normally.

Q4. What is the main demand of bank unions behind the strike?
The main demand of bank unions behind the strike is a five-day working week.

Q5. Will there be more bank strikes in the future?
The unions said today's strike is limited to one day, but further action could be taken if their demands are not met.

With ANI Inputs