Strike paralyses banking operations in U’khand, leads to loss of over Rs 8,000 crores

Dehradun, 27 Jan: Bank operations across Uttarakhand came to a standstill today as the banking employees affiliated with the United Forum of Bank Unions launched a strike to press for their long-standing demand of a five-day work week in the banking sector. Nine unions of bank employees and officers also joined the protest, resulting in widespread disruption of financial transactions. Sources in the banking sector claimed that business worth nearly Rs 8,000 crore was affected due to the suspension of services in banks throughout the state. In Dehradun, bank personnel staged a demonstration in front of the Central Bank on Rajpur Road, voicing their grievances and calling for immediate redressal.

Leaders of the United Forum of Bank Unions recalled that the demand for a five-day week has been pending for several years. In the tenth bipartite settlement and the seventh joint note signed in 2015, the Indian Banks’ Association and the Government had agreed that the second and fourth Saturdays of every month would be holidays, while other Saturdays would remain working days. At that time, the Government had assured that the demand to declare all Saturdays as holidays would be considered at the earliest, but the issue has remained unresolved since long.

It may also be recalled that in 2022, the Government and the Indian Banks’ Association agreed to deliberate further with the United Forum of Bank Unions, proposing that remaining Saturdays could be declared holidays by increasing daily working hours. Following discussions in 2023, it was decided that working hours from Monday to Friday would be extended by 40 minutes to facilitate the declaration of all Saturdays as holidays. Although this proposal was recommended to the Government, approval has been pending for two years. The unions had earlier called for a strike on 24 and 25 March, but postponed it after being informed that the matter was under consideration. With no progress since then, employees said they were compelled to resort to strike action today.

Bank employees and officers also reminded that that several financial institutions, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Life Insurance Corporation and General Insurance Corporation, already function on a five-day week basis. Convener of the United Forum of Bank Unions in Dehradun, Inder Singh Rawat, pointed out that almost all the Central and State Government offices operate from Monday to Friday. He added that the stock exchange, money market and that the foreign exchange transactions also remain closed on Saturdays and Sundays, yet the banking sector continues to be denied parity. Alleging neglect of their legitimate demand, employees expressed strong resentment and described the treatment meted out to them as step-motherly.