New Delhi: The Union Forum of Bank Unions has called for a two-day all-India strike that will likely take place on January 30. (UFBI). On Friday, there will be a second round of mediation talks with the unions; only then will it be possible to determine the precise position of the strike. State Bank of India (SBI), the largest public sector lender in the nation with over 42 crore account holders, has stated that the strike may affect regular services at its branches.


Why are bank unions going on strike?


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The trade unions have been demanding five-day banking, updation of pension, and recruitment of people in all cadres, among other issues, it said. The conciliation meeting took place after the finance ministry asked public sector banks to hold negotiations on wages with the bank unions to avoid the strike just before the Union Budget. The last five-year settlement (2017–22) for the revision of pay and service conditions is now over, thus the bank unions want to start talks on a new five-year settlement.


The UFBU is made up of nine bank unions, including the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), and the National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW). The bank strike is expected to draw a significant number of participants, causing disruptions to banking services due to its organization and leadership by UFBU. Ten lakh employees and officers of all the banks of the country are expected to participate in the strike


Bank strike: SBI services to get affected


“We inform that, we have been advised by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) that the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has served a Notice of Strike, informing that the members of the constituent Unions of UFBU viz. AIBEA, AIBOC, NCBE, AIBOA, BEFI, INBEF, and INBOC propose to go on a nationwide Bank Strike on 30 & 31st January 2023 in support of their demands," SBI said in a regulatory filing on January 24.


We advise that while the Bank has made necessary arrangements to ensure normal functioning in its branches and offices on the days of the Strike, it is likely that work in our Bank may be impacted by the Strike, in the event of the Strike taking place, the bank added.


The call for a strike for January 30 and 31 is still in effect, according to the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) on Monday. No specific promise of a settlement to our concerns was made at the conciliation meeting held by the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner on Tuesday in Mumbai quoted AIBEA.