UFBU Announces Nationwide Bank Strike on Sept 11

Jammu, September 10: The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), representing seven employee and officer unions, has announced nationwide strikes over the pending demand for implementation of a five-day working week in the banking sector.

Bank employees and officers will observe an all-India strike on September 11, followed by strikes on September 28, 29 and 30. The UFBU has also warned of an indefinite strike from October 26 if its demands remain unresolved.

The unions are seeking declaration of all Saturdays as holidays. They said an agreement reached in March 2024 provided for the change, with employees agreeing to extend working hours by 40 minutes from Monday to Friday. The proposal was subsequently sent to the Finance Ministry for approval but remains pending, according to the UFBU.

The unions maintained that the move would not reduce customer service hours because of the proposed additional working time on weekdays.

Other demands include adequate recruitment of clerical and subordinate staff, restoration of the Old Pension Scheme, pension updation, uniform dearness allowance for pensioners, revision of ex-gratia for pensioners, resolution of gratuity-related issues and reduction of medical insurance premiums for retired employees.

The UFBU said conciliation meetings held on September 8 and 9 in the presence of Labour Department and Finance Ministry officials failed to yield an agreement on the five-day week.

It said all bank branches would remain closed and banking services would be unavailable on strike days. (Agencies)