Bank Strike Delayed: Nationwide Protest Halted After Talks with Finance Ministry

The much-anticipated two-day strike by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which was slated to bring banking operations to a halt across India on March 24-25, 2025, has been postponed. The decision followed productive conciliation talks between the unions, the Finance Ministry, and the Indian Banks' Association (IBA). The discussions were facilitated under the aegis of the Chief Labour Commissioner, leading to an agreement that met many of the UFBU's demands, at least temporarily.

Concerns Raised by Unions

The strike was originally called to address a raft of issues that have been vexing bank employees for some time. Among these concerns were widespread staff shortages, which have put enormous pressure on existing employees. The unions were also advocating for the implementation of a 5-day work week in the banking sector, a demand that has been a sticking point for years. In addition, there were significant concerns about job security amidst new directives from the Department of Financial Services (DFS) that linked incentives to performance reviews.

The list of grievances was comprehensive and included the withdrawal of said DFS directives—seen as a threat to job security—and an insistence on broadly recruiting more permanent staff to replace temporary roles and address shortages. Furthermore, there were calls to amend the Gratuity Act, specifically to raise the ceiling to ₹25 lakh and to push for gratuity payments to be exempt from income tax. Bank employees also protested against what they describe as the micro-management of public sector banks and the outsourcing of permanent roles, all perceived as signals of diminishing job stability.

Outcome of the Talks

In light of these discussions, both the IBA and the Finance Ministry gave assurances of addressing the raised issues earnestly, leading the UFBU to defer the strike. A clear roadmap for future negotiations was laid out with the next round of talks scheduled for April 22, when it is hoped more concrete resolutions will surface.

During the period when the strike would have taken place, March 24-25, banking operations will proceed as usual. The next scheduled disruption to bank operations will be due to the public holiday for Ramzan-Id (Id-Ul-Fitr) on March 31 in several parts of the country. Customers and bank employees alike can breathe a temporary sigh of relief as efforts to resolve these long-standing issues continue in good faith from all parties involved.