India's three-day bank strike postponed after negotiations

A nationwide three-day bank strike scheduled for September 28–30 has been postponed following late-night negotiations on Sunday between the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) and the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU). The UFBU announced the deferral in a circular issued on September 27 after the meeting concluded at 9:30 p.m.

Under the agreement, a high-level committee comprising representatives from both the IBA and UFBU will be formed immediately to address key union demands. The committee will explore alternatives and consult stakeholders on the unions' primary demand: implementing a five-day banking week, which would declare remaining Saturdays as holidays. Discussions will also resume on the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Scale IV and above officers, and on residual issues listed in minutes from March 8, 2024.

The strike had been called to press demands including a five-day work week, improved pension benefits, a uniform dearness allowance formula for all pensioners, and an option for employees under the National Pension System (NPS) to shift to the old pension scheme (OPS). The unions had previously conducted a one-day nationwide strike on September 11. A conciliation meeting earlier in the week had ended without resolution, prompting the announcement of the three-day strike.

To prevent extended service disruption, the central government directed all public sector banks and regional rural banks to remain open on Sunday, September 27, despite the weekend holiday. The Reserve Bank of India approved full operations of bank branches, offices, ATM-linked branches, and currency chests. Several public sector banks announced they would waive ATM transaction charges above the free monthly limit during the planned strike period.

The central government also confirmed that salaries and pensions for central government employees will be credited on September 25, before the originally planned strike dates. This arrangement applies to employees across defence, postal, and telecommunications sectors. The timing of the proposed strike was also significant because September 30 marks the half-yearly closing of banks, involving reconciliation, provisioning, and treasury operations.

With the strike now deferred, banking services are expected to resume normal operations from September 28. However, the unions have warned of an indefinite strike from October 26 if their demands are not resolved through the newly formed committee and pending meetings scheduled for October 15 with the central labour commissioner.