Banking services were affected across the country on Friday as bank employees and officers went on a nationwide strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) over the demand for a five-day working week and other pending issues.
The UFBU, an umbrella body of seven bank employee and officer unions, said the strike received a "massive" response and announced that its agitation would continue with a three-day strike from September 28 to 30.
"The strike today has once again manifested the anger, anguish and resentment of the employees and officers over the continued neglect of the Government on our long pending demand for introduction of 5 days banking as agreed in the wage revision agreement in March, 2024," it said.
The unions have also announced an indefinite strike from October 26 if their demands are not resolved.
Most branches of public sector banks were either closed or partially affected as employees and officers joined the strike.
Services including cash deposits and withdrawals, cheque clearing and administrative work were impacted at several branches
The unions are demanding the declaration of all Saturdays as holidays, which 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.
Under the proposal, banks would operate from Monday to Friday, with daily working hours increased by 40 minutes.
"Since there was no positive outcome and the government did not agree to our demand, this strike is forced on us. Bank employees and officers are highly aggrieved that they alone are being discriminated against," AIBEA general secretary C H Venkatachalam told PTI.
In a circular issued on Friday, the UFBU said discussions with the IBA, Department of Financial Services (DFS) and Chief Labour Commissioner had failed to produce concrete steps towards implementing the five-day banking system.
The matter "has not been rejected and is still under consideration", the UFBU said, quoting the response during the discussions.
The unions said more than two years had passed since the proposal was agreed upon by the IBA and sent to the government.
It said the September 28-30 three-day strike would be the next major step in the campaign for the five-day banking week.
The UFBU comprises the All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Employees' Federation (INBEF) and Indian National Bank Officers' Congress (INBOC).