New Delhi: The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on Sunday announced that the three-day nationwide strike by bank employees, scheduled from September 28 to 30, has been deferred.
According to a statement issued by the UFBU, the decision was taken after the unions held talks with representatives of the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) on Sunday.
The bank unions decided to defer the strike after reaching an understanding with the IBA on key demands, including the five-day banking week.
According to the UFBU statement, both sides have agreed to form a high-level committee immediately to examine the demand for declaring all remaining Saturdays as holidays.
On the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for officers in Scale IV and above, discussions will be initiated with the IBA to propose modifications to the Union Government.
“The residual issues as listed in the minutes dated 8.3.2024 will be discussed between the parties for expeditious resolution,” the statement said.
What are UFBU and IBA?
The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) is the representative body of banks and financial institutions in India and plays a key role in wage negotiations and discussions on employment-related policies on behalf of bank managements.
The UFBU is an umbrella organisation representing major bank employees' and officers' unions, including the All India Employees' Association (AIEBA), 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).
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What were the bank unions demanding?
According to bank employees' unions, the demand for a five-day banking week had remained unresolved for several years. During recent conciliation meetings before the Chief Labour Commissioner, the government had not given any commitment on implementing the five-day working week, union leaders said.
Apart from a five-day banking week and withdrawal of the PLI scheme, the unions had raised several other demands, including updation and improvement of pension benefits, a uniform Dearness Allowance formula for pensioners, and an option to choose the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for employees covered under the National Pension System (NPS)
The deferment of the strike means that bank employees will not proceed with the planned three-day agitation from September 28 to 30, and customers can access the services uninterrupted.
