Banking services are expected to face disruptions for three days from Monday as bank unions begin a nationwide strike over their demand for a five-day working week and other pending issues.
Branches of new generation private sector banks, including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, will remain open during the three-day strike. The strike has been called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body representing seven bank employees’ and officers’ unions. The unions are demanding a five-day working week along with several other pending issues.
State Bank of India (SBI), in its advisory, said it would make every effort to provide essential banking services at branches and offices, but some services could be affected during the strike. “Agitation has been forced on the unions due to the actions of the government and management,” said Rupam Roy, general secretary of the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC).
“A five-day working week is already followed by central and state government offices, the RBI, LIC, GIC, NABARD and several other institutions.
The stock market, money market and foreign exchange market also function on a five-day basis,” said L Chandrasekhar, general secretary of the National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE).
The finance ministry earlier this week urged bank employees not to go on strike and asked them to resolve their remaining demands through dialogue.
