Massive bank strike alert! Nationwide strike on March 24-25 to cripple services

 New Delhi: Talks with the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) on the key demands of the employees' union did not yield any positive results, the UFBU said. In their meeting with the IBA, UFBU members raised a host of issues, including recruitment in all cadres and a five-day working week. National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE) General Secretary L Chandrasekhar said that despite the meeting, major issues remained unresolved. UFBU, an umbrella body of nine bank employee unions, had earlier called the strike to press for the demands.

What issues came up in the conversation?

In the meeting with the IBA, all the UFBU-affiliated employee unions raised several important demands, including recruitment in all cadres and a five-day work week. But no consensus could be reached on these main demands. National Confederation of Bank Employees General Secretary L. Chandrasekhar said that no concrete decision was taken on this issue. What are the demands for the strike?

• Fill vacant posts in public sector banks: Appointments should be made immediately on the posts of employees and officers.
• Performance Review and Withdrawal of Incentive Schemes: The unions say that the new guidelines issued by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) are jeopardizing job security.
• Ban on "micro-management" in the functioning of banks: The UFBU alleges that the autonomy of government bank boards is being affected.
• Amendments to the Gratuity Act: Increase the ceiling to Rs 25 lakh, making it at par with the scheme for government employees and exempt it from income tax. The remaining pending issues related to IBA should be resolved.

Banks to remain closed for 4 days

According to the United Forum of Bank Unions, 9 banks will be on strike across the country on 24 and 25 March. At the same time, banks will remain closed for 4 consecutive days on March 22 and Sunday on March 23. If you have to do any bank related work, then you should complete it before March 22.

 Small and big businessmen also have problems

Due to the closure of banks for four consecutive days, the country is bound to suffer a major economic setback. This will stall the functioning of the government as well as the common man. The four-day strike of banks will have a bad effect on business activities in the country. Every day, traders, service providers, corporate houses, industries, small businesses and other sectors use the banking system. This will have a bad effect on their banking operations.

Transactions through NEFT will be stuck due to the closure of banks. Due to this, there is a possibility of major damage. Many important services including cheque clearance, ATM work will be stuck due to this strike.