The nationwide bank strike has severely impacted operations across Madhya Pradesh, with approximately 7,000 branches affected and 42,000 employees and officers participating in the protest. According to The Economic Times, Madhya Pradesh Bank Employees Association chairman Mohankrishna Shukla told PTI that around 42,000 employees and officers from nearly 7,000 of the state's 8,707 bank branches joined the strike. The strike affected employees of 12 public sector banks, various regional rural banks and cooperative banks in the state. The strike disrupted cash deposits and withdrawals, cheque clearance, renewal of fixed deposit schemes, government treasury-related work and other financial activities at bank branches across the state.
The strike has resulted in significant financial disruption, affecting daily business worth approximately ₹5,500 crore in Madhya Pradesh alone. As per The Economic Times, Shukla said the strike affected daily business worth about ₹5,500 crore in the state. The disruption extends beyond cash and cheque services, with treasury-related work and other financial activities also affected at bank branches. The timing of the strike, coinciding with Friday followed by bank holidays on subsequent days, has compounded the impact as September 12 is the second Saturday, September 13 is Sunday and September 14 is also a bank holiday in several states for Ganesh Chaturthi. In states observing Ganesh Chaturthi on September 14, branches will remain closed on Monday as well, with Ganesh Chaturthi-related holidays applying to several banking centres including Mumbai, Nagpur, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Panaji, Belapur and Bhubaneswar.
Banking services at public sector banks were severely impacted on Friday as the nationwide strike disrupted operations across India. Most branches of public sector banks were fully or partially closed as employees and officers joined the protest, with cash deposits, withdrawals, cheque clearances and administrative work affected at several branches. The strike did not affect private sector banks, with some old-generation private sector banks also reporting disruptions. As per The Economic Times, digital banking services, including UPI and internet banking, continued to function despite the physical branch closures. Banking services, particularly at public sector banks, were affected across India as the day fell on Friday, followed by bank holidays on subsequent days. September 12 is the second Saturday, September 13 is Sunday and September 14 is also a bank holiday in several states for Ganesh Chaturthi, compounding the disruption.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday met a delegation of bank employees representing various public sector banks (PSBs) and decided to keep in abeyance the implementation of the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for the financial year 2025-26 following concerns raised by employees. The delegation, led by the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, raised several issues related to the banking sector, including a review of ex-gratia, medical facilities for retired employees and changes to the existing PLI structure for PSB employees. Taking note of the employees' concerns, the Minister decided to keep in abeyance the implementation of the PLI Scheme dated November 19, 2024, for FY 2025-26. The Finance Ministry stated that the PLI scheme would be kept in abeyance for FY 2025-26 and taken up during the ongoing Bipartite Settlement/Joint Note discussions. The UFBU, however, said the PLI issue had been addressed "for the time being," while the five-day banking demand remained unresolved.
The five-day banking week remains the principal demand of the bank unions, with the issue pending for several years. Under the 12th Bipartite Settlement/9th Joint Note signed in March 2024, the proposal envisaged five-day week with an increase in daily working hours from Monday to Friday to compensate for the additional weekly holiday. The proposal was subsequently recommended to the government but has not yet been implemented. "The strike today has once again manifested the anger, anguish and resentment of the employees and officers over the continued neglect of the Government on our long pending demand for introduction of 5 days banking as agreed in the wage revision agreement in March, 2024," the UFBU stated. The unions cite precedent, with "A 5-day working week is already followed by central and state government offices, the RBI, LIC, GIC, NABARD and several other institutions," noted L Chandrasekhar, general secretary of National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE). According to the unions, an agreement reached in March 2024 provided for this arrangement, with employees agreeing to work an additional 40 minutes from Monday to Friday to adjust working hours. Currently, banks remain open on the first, third, and fifth Saturdays of the month, but the unions are demanding the declaration of all Saturdays as holidays, a key point that was reportedly agreed upon during the 12th Bipartite Settlement but is awaiting government notification.
The UFBU has threatened to hold a three-day nationwide strike beginning September 28, coinciding with the half-yearly closure, if its demands remain unresolved. The strike also encompasses unresolved pension and National Pension System (NPS) demands, including updation 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). These demands remain unresolved despite previous discussions, adding to the unions' grievances. The UFBU comprises nine major bank employee and officer unions—All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Employees' Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC), All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA) and Bank Employees' Association (BEA). The union has now decided to launch an indefinite strike from October 26 if its demands are not addressed by the government and bank management. "Since there was no positive outcome and the government did not agree to our demand, this strike is forced on us. Bank employees and officers are highly aggrieved that they alone are being discriminated against," AIBEA general secretary C H Venkatachalam told PTI.
