NEW DELHI/SHIMLA: Banking operations across India are heading for a major disruption as the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has decided to proceed with a nationwide three-day strike from September 28 to 30, raising the possibility of prolonged disruption to branch-based banking at the end of the month.
The timing has added to the concern. September 26 is the fourth Saturday and September 27 is Sunday, meaning customers could face a five-day stretch from September 26 to 30 without normal branch operations in banks where employees participate in the strike.
The September 30 deadline is also significant because it coincides with the half-yearly closing of banks.
The UFBU has called the strike primarily over the demand for implementation of a five-day banking week. The government says the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) issue, another major union demand, has already been kept in abeyance, while the five-day banking proposal remains under consideration.
The unions, however, have maintained that they want concrete progress on the five-day working week.
The dispute has now moved beyond an internal labour-management issue because of its potential impact on customers, businesses, government transactions, cheque clearing, settlements and other banking-dependent economic activity.
The Finance Ministry and bank managements have appealed to employees to reconsider the strike, while several public-sector banks, including Punjab National Bank, have separately issued communications seeking continuity of customer services.
In an effort to cushion the impact, the government has approved the opening of all public-sector bank and Regional Rural Bank branches on Sunday, September 27.
The Reserve Bank of India has also approved the operation of bank branches, offices, ATM-linked branches and currency chests on that day. The move is intended to give customers an additional working day before the strike begins.
Punjab National Bank has also alerted customers about the proposed strike and said it will not levy charges for transactions carried out at PNB as well as other-bank ATMs during September 28-30. The measure is aimed at easing the burden on customers who may have to depend more heavily on ATM services during the disruption.
The government has also been taking steps to minimise the economic impact. The Finance Ministry has urged banks to ensure adequate cash availability at ATMs and maintain essential services during the strike period.
Digital banking, UPI, internet banking and mobile banking are expected to remain available, although services requiring physical branch intervention could be affected.
The central issue now is whether the government, the Indian Banks' Association, bank managements and the unions can use the remaining time for meaningful negotiations rather than allowing the dispute to escalate.
The government has said it has already held several rounds of conciliation, while the UFBU has maintained that there has been no concrete progress on its principal outstanding demand.
The immediate concern is therefore not simply whether bank counters will remain open. The larger question is whether a prolonged confrontation between managements and employee unions can be allowed to disrupt a financial system on which millions of customers, businesses, traders, pensioners and government agencies depend, particularly at the half-yearly closing of accounts.
With the unions having already staged a one-day strike on September 11 and an indefinite strike proposed from October 26 if the dispute remains unresolved, the September 28-30 action could become another stage in a widening confrontation unless negotiations produce a settlement.
For customers, the immediate advice from banks is to complete important branch-dependent transactions before September 28 and make use of the additional banking day on September 27.
The larger responsibility, however, lies with the negotiating parties to prevent a labour dispute from turning into a wider disruption of banking and economic activity.
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