New Delhi, Sep 22 (PTI) United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has said they would go ahead with the three-day nationwide strike beginning September 28, as a conciliation meeting before the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner on Tuesday remained inconclusive.
The conciliation meeting was held a day after the Finance Ministry appealed to bank employees to refrain from resorting to strikes and resolve their remaining demands through dialogue.
UFBU, which claims to represent 90 per cent of the banking workforce, is primarily seeking 5-day banking among other demands.
The strike, if it materialises, may impact banking services for five days as the weekend before September 28 is a holiday. It would coincide with the half-yearly closing of the banking sector.
“Responding to the appeal made by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), Bank managements to defer the strike, we informed them that if there is any concrete and positive development towards implementation of our demand for introduction of 5 days banking, UFBU will consider the same,” UFBU said in a statement after the meeting with the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner.
Otherwise, it said, UFBU will be constrained to go ahead with the proposed strike on September 28, 29 and 30.
Representatives of the DFS, Ministry of Finance, informed that the Government has been taking many initiatives for the welfare of the bank employees and the issue of 5-day Banking is also under consideration as they have to take into account the views of many other stakeholders before any decision is taken, it said.
Hence, it said, they requested the UFBU to defer the strike and continue the dialogue.
Bank unions under UFBU had gone on nationwide strike on September 11 over their demand.
UFBU’s other demands include an update and improvement of pension, a uniform dearness allowance formula for all pensioners and an option for employees covered under the National Pension System (NPS) to switch to the old pension scheme (OPS).
Many public sector banks have started issuing advisories to their customers to use digital channels such as Mobile Banking, ATM, Internet Banking, BC Point and UPI for banking needs if the strike materialises.
The proposed 3-day strike period also coincides with the half-yearly closing of banks on September 30, a date of particular significance for reconciliation, provisioning and treasury and market operations.
A disruption of this nature, combined with the preceding weekend, would result in an effective five-day closure of banking services at a particularly sensitive point in the financial calendar – causing considerable inconvenience to customers, businesses, Government transactions and international banking operations.
Strikes cause disruption in banking services that inconvenience the public, impact the business of the banks, and ultimately harm the interests of bank employees and there is no fruitful outcome that is achieved through strikes, the finance ministry had said on Monday.
The government assured that it remains committed to the welfare and well-being of bank employees and to addressing their genuine concerns through constructive engagement. PTI DP SHM
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