State Bank of India has announced that the proposed strike by the All India State Bank of India Staff Federation (AISBISF) scheduled for May 25 and 26 has been deferred, ensuring normal banking operations across the country. In a customer advisory, the country's largest public sector lender confirmed that all branches and banking services will function without disruption during the strike period. SBI stated that "this is to advise our esteemed customers that the proposed strike by the All India State Bank of India Staff Federation (AISBISF) on 25th and 26th May 2026 has been deferred. All our branches will function normally and provide all regular banking services." This development comes as a significant relief to the bank's over 52 crore customers who were preparing for potential service disruptions. The strike call was given earlier this month by the All India SBI Staff Federation over a 16-point charter of demands, including recruitment of messengers and armed guards, adequate staffing, stopping outsourcing of permanent jobs, review of career progression schemes, improvement in medical reimbursement and resolution of HRMS-related issues.
The proposed nationwide strike by SBI staff on May 25-26 has been deferred following "positive discussions" between the bank's management and representatives from the employee union in Mumbai on Friday, officials said. As reported by PTI, SBI Staff Association, Bengal Circle secretary Sudip Dutta confirmed that "the meeting with the management was positive and there has been progress on several demands raised by the federation. In view of the developments, the proposed strike has been deferred." The federation had also raised concerns over "declining" clerical recruitment, "increasing workload" on employees, "delays" in inter-circle transfers and pension-related issues concerning the country's largest lender. All India SBI Staff Federation general secretary L Chandrasekhar informed members that "the meeting held today between the management and the federation at Corporate Centre, Mumbai has concluded positively. We are glad to inform you that there have been positive improvements on our demands."
The non-recruitment of messengers for nearly three decades has emerged as one of the primary issues flagged by the union, as reported by The Economic Times. The federation described this as "a matter of profound pain and grave national concern that the country's largest and highest profit-earning Public Sector Bank... is systematically shutting its doors on the poorest of the poor, the underprivileged, unemployed youth, and weaker sections of society." These employees play a critical role in transporting sensitive documents, cash, and packages between branches. Additionally, the union raised concerns over security staffing, stating that recruitment of armed guards was last conducted in 2022 despite increasing incidents of ATM thefts and attacks on bank premises. "This is not merely a staffing issue, it is a matter concerning public funds, customer safety, and the institutional credibility of the Bank," the union emphasized. The union had also expressed concerns over declining workforce strength and increasing workload on employees, while highlighting security risks arising from shortages of armed guards at branches.
According to reports from The Economic Times, the union accused SBI of large-scale outsourcing of permanent and perennial jobs, including trade finance operations, agricultural associate duties, messengerial work and armed guard services, allegedly in violation of earlier settlements. The federation stated that this blatant violation of bilateral settlements has severely impacted job security, service quality, and the rights of workmen employees. The union further claimed that outsourcing in sensitive banking operations exposed customers to risks relating to "data privacy, misuse of KYC and account information, fraud, and identity theft." The proposed SBI strike highlights growing tensions between employees and management over staffing, outsourcing, pension management, and labour agreements. The union had also alleged disparities in wage revisions between officers and workmen despite industry-wide settlement agreements.
As reported by The Economic Times, the federation alleged that SBI had not implemented provisions allowing National Pension System subscribers to change pension fund managers annually despite directions from the Ministry of Finance and guidelines issued by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. The union claimed that "over 55,000 award staff and over 55,000 officers are suffering significant erosion of their hard-earned retirement savings owing to poor and negligible returns from the pension fund manager." The federation also alleged that SBI had unilaterally stopped inter-circle transfers for employees recruited from 2019 onwards despite a 2017 memorandum of settlement. The proposed agitation had raised concerns of large-scale disruption in banking services as May 23 and 24 fall on the second Saturday and Sunday respectively, while Bakrid holidays are scheduled in several states on May 27 and 28.
According to reports from The Economic Times, Switzerland-based labour body UNI Global Union extended support to the proposed strike action. UNI Global Union General Secretary Christy Hoffman stated in a solidarity letter that "UNI's finance affiliates across the world are fighting the same battle: the erosion of stable employment through outsourcing and casualization. You are not alone in this struggle." The federation had planned a series of nationwide protests, including demonstrations, sit-ins and social media campaigns, along with representations to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The federation had urged MPs to take up the matter with the Finance Ministry, Department of Financial Services and Ministry of Labour and Employment to facilitate discussions with the bank management. In a letter addressed to Members of Parliament, the federation had alleged that "the bilateral mechanism is now being systematically undermined, resulting in growing unrest, frustration, and dissatisfaction among employees across the Bank."
