Banking ops impacted as workers' unions observe nationwide strike for 5-day work week demand

New Delhi: Branch banking operations like cheque clearance, deposit and withdrawal of cash across many places in the country were impacted on Tuesday as the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) observed a nationwide strike demanding the immediate implementation of a five-day work week.

The strike by the UFBU, an umbrella body of nine unions representing officers and employees, materialised after a conciliation meeting with the Chief Labour Commissioner on January 23 failed to yield a positive outcome.

Nearly 8 lakh employees of various unions of public sector banks participated in the strike call given by UFBU.

According to estimates, cheques worth Rs 4 lakh crore were held up for clearance, cash transactions were impacted and bill trading, bill discounting and trading were affecting and treasury operations at the public sector banks were also shut at many places, All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), a constituent of UFBU, general secretary C H Venkatachalam told PTI.

In December 2023, after discussions it was agreed that the daily working hours from Monday to Friday will be increased by 40 minutes and the remaining Saturdays will be declared as holidays, All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC) General Secretary Rupam Roy said.

This has been duly recommended to the government but unfortunately it is pending approval for the past two years, he said.

Reports coming from Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand indicate that banking services were impacted and many ATMs were running dry.

Most branches of public sector banks across the country were either completely closed or partially closed as both employees and officers were observing Tuesday's strike.

Services such as cash deposits, withdrawals, cheque clearances, and administrative work are hit at branches of all public sector banks (PSBs) and some old generation private sector banks.

However, operations at major private sector lenders like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank are expected to remain largely unaffected as their employees are not part of the striking unions.

Digital banking services, including UPI and internet banking, were working fine as there were no reports of outage.

Several public sector lenders, including the banking giant SBI, had informed stock exchanges about the potential impact.

"We advise that while the bank has made necessary arrangements to ensure normal functioning in its branches and offices on the day of the strike, it is likely that work in the bank may be impacted by the strike," SBI said in a regulatory filing on Friday.

According to another UFBU constituent National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE) General Secretary L Chandrasekhar, the resounding success of today's strike sends an unmistakable message that 5-day banking is not a luxury but a necessity, essential for work-life balance, employee wellbeing and sustainable banking services.

Continued delay is unacceptable, and bank employees are deeply aggrieved at being singled out and discriminated against despite concluded agreements and proven digital readiness, he added.

The unions are demanding the declaration of all Saturdays as holidays, a key point that was reportedly agreed upon during the 12th Bipartite Settlement signed with the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) in March 2024, but is awaiting government notification.

Currently, banks remain open on the first, third, and fifth Saturdays of the month.