Bank strike: Banking services likely to be hit on THESE days next week — all you need to know | Mint

Bank holidays next week: The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has called for an India-wide bank strike on March 24 and March 25 after the discussions with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) failed.

The UFBU is an umbrella organisation of nine bank unions comprising more than eight lakh employees and officers in public sector banks, private sector banks, foreign banks, co-op banks and regional rural banks.

Will private bank services be affected?

According to an ANI report, the strike is set to impact the services of the public sector, private sector, and regional rural banks. However, banks such as SBI, BoB, PNB, and other private lenders like ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank have not released any official statement on the strike, as per Mint’s earlier report.

According to an agency report, the strike can potentially lead to four days of interrupted services due to a preceding bank holiday due to a fourth Saturday on March 22.

“Banking services will be interrupted for four days starting from March 22. March 23 is a bank holiday, and 24-25 is the strike. Due to this, banking services like clearing house, cash transaction, remittances and advances will be affected for four days starting from March 22,” Pankaj Kapoor, the vice president of All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC) was quoted as saying in the report.

Will banks stay closed for 4 days in a row?

Banks across India will be closed on Saturday, March 22, as it is the fourth Saturday, a designated banking holiday, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines.

Due to the workers’ strike next week, customers will have to be prepared for a long weekend as banks will remain closed on Monday, March 24, and Tuesday, March 25.

People planning to visit their nearest bank branch can plan their service needs accordingly for this upcoming holiday stretch. If a bank has a holiday or is shut down for a reason, essential banking services like cash withdrawals, cheque processing, loan services, and customer support will be unavailable.

However, ATMs and online banking will be available, though larger or time-sensitive transactions might be affected.

Staff unions’ demands

According to an earlier report, the workers sought to ensure sufficient recruitment in all jobs to provide branch staffing and improve customer service.

They also demanded that all the temporary employees working in the banking sector be regularised and that all banks implement a five-day workweek.

The workers also asked to immediately withdraw recent directives related to performance reviews and the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, potentially threatening employees’ job security.

They also demanded the safety of bank officers and staff against assaults and abuses from the general public.

They also asked to solve the pending issues with the IBA and fill vacant posts in the state-owned banks. They want to stop unfair labour practices in the banking industry.

The workers have also demanded that the Gratuity Act be amended to increase the ceiling to ₹25 lakh, which would then become similar to the government employee scheme and exempt income tax.