Nationwide Bank Strike Highlights: SBI, PNB, BoB operations expected to be hit; why are employees protesting?

Digital banking services, mobile banking applications and ATM services remain unaffected by the nationwide strike and continue to function normally.

General Secretary of the National Confederation for Bank Employees(NCBE), Maharashtra, Wilbur Anton, said that the protest was being conducted in a calm and disciplined manner.

"We are doing a silent and peaceful protest, seeking a five-day work per week for all the bank employees," ANI quoted Wilbur Anton as saying.

General Secretary of the Indian Bank Officers Association for Maharashtra and Goa, Sanjay Kuthe, said that the strike would not significantly impact customers, as prior arrangements had been made. "However, there will be no major issue for the bank customers as we have already informed them from before and all our ATMs and digital services are operative," ANI quoted Sanjay Kuthe as saying.

General Secretary of the Indian Bank Officers Association for Maharashtra and Goa, Sanjay Kuthe, said the demand for a five-day workweek has been pending for a long time.

"We demand the government to implement five-day working days for employees in a week. It is a long pending demand and has been delayed by over 2 years," ANI quoted Sanjay Kuthe as saying.

Private sector banks such as ICICI, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra and Axis Bank are expected to function normally on 27 January and remain unaffected by the strike.

Earlier this month, the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which is an umbrella organization comprising 9 major bank unions in India said, “There would be no loss of man-hours as we have agreed to work an extra 40 minutes daily from Monday to Friday."

Bank employees are protesting for a shorter work week. Bank employee unions called for a nationwide strike on 27 January, pressing for immediate implementation of demands for a 5-day-long workweek. Currently, banks remain close every second and fourth Saturday of each month in addition to Sundays.

The State Bank of India warned of possible disruption in day-to-day operations on January 27. An official statement from SBI issued on 23 January said, “In this connection, we advise that while the Bank has made necessary arrangements to ensure normal functioning in its branches and offices on the day of strike, it is likely that work in the Bank may be impacted by the Strike."

Operations at public sector banks like SBI and PNB are expected to be disrupted today.

Public sector banks like SBI, PNB and Bank of Baroda are expected to see their operations getting hit today due to a nationwide bank strike by employees. Follow along for our extensive coverage on the nationwide bank strike today.