The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on Sunday deferred its planned three-day nationwide strike after holding an eleventh-hour meeting with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
The UFBU said in a statement that representatives of the two sides met on Sunday and agreed to defer the proposed strike following discussions on several pending issues.
As part of the agreement, the IBA and UFBU will immediately form a joint committee to examine the demand to declare all Saturdays bank holidays. The committee will evaluate various options, consult stakeholders and work towards a solution that addresses the interests of all parties, including customers.
The two sides will also begin discussions on changes to the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Scale IV and above officers. The talks will aim to address the concerns of senior bank officers and take up the matter with the government.
The IBA and UFBU will further discuss other pending matters mentioned in the minutes of their March 8, 2024 meeting, with the aim of resolving them at the earliest.
Following these developments, the UFBU said it would withdraw its planned protests and strike action for the time being.
Earlier, State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda (BoB), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and several other public sector banks opened their branches on Sunday to give customers an additional opportunity to complete essential banking transactions ahead of the proposed three-day strike from September 28 to September 30.
The special Sunday opening covered public sector banks (PSBs) and regional rural banks (RRBs), following a directive aimed at maintaining regular banking services before the proposed strike. Customers requiring branch-based banking services could therefore use the additional working day, subject to individual branches’ operational arrangements and staffing.
Authorities decided to open PSB and RRB branches on Sunday following a September 21 meeting involving officials from the Finance Ministry, public sector banks, regional rural banks, the IBA and NABARD.