Bank customers across India could see a disruption to their bank services on Monday as various bank employee unions have called for a national strike. This is mainly because of the long-standing demand in banking for a five-day working week, not just the one in the top banks.
The strike will affect the operations of a number of nationalised and public sector banks, and their customers may have trouble with branch-based services. In view of the proposed strike, the State Bank of India (SBI) has also issued an advisory to its customers and asked them to plan their banking activities accordingly.
Why are bank employees going on strike?
The fundamental demand behind the proposed strike is a five-day banking week. Bank employee unions have been pressing the government to adopt a model that would see bank employees work only from Monday to Friday, with Saturdays and Sundays treated as weekly holidays.
At present, banking operations have certain working arrangements on Saturdays according to the existing banking calendar and rules. Employee organisations have argued that introducing a five-day workweek would bring banking-sector working conditions more in line with several other industries.
But the unions have also raised other questions, so that the protest is not limited to the five-day working week.
Services could be affected
If employees are involved in the strike in large numbers, customers will experience disruption to several branch-related services. This could include cash deposits and withdrawals at branches, cheque issuance and administration, account-related work and other banking activities requiring a visit to a branch.
The extent of the disruption could vary from bank to bank and from location to location depending on employee participation.
Digital banking services such as internet banking, mobile banking, UPI and ATMs will continue to be available, but customers should be aware that certain transactions or services requiring branch intervention may be delayed.
SBI advises customers to plan ahead
SBI has informed its customers about the proposed strike and advised them to complete important banking activities beforehand.
So customers who have urgent branch-related work are encouraged to avoid waiting for strike day. Cash and cheque-related services or any other services that cannot be done digitally will need to be planned prior to the visit.
The advisory is most useful to customers who cannot make time-sensitive payments or have transactions that require bank staff’s assistance.
What should bank customers do?
Customers can take a few precautions to minimise inconvenience during the strike. Those who have pending branch-related work can do this before the strike. Digital banking facilities can also be used for eligible transactions.
Regularly using UPI, mobile banking, internet banking and ATMs for payment and routine transactions, but it is essential to have sufficient cash available to meet the basic needs of a customer who expects to have to use physical banking services.
People with scheduled payments should also check their account balances and ensure that adequate funds are available for automatic deductions.
Five-day banking week remains a key demand
For some years, the need for a five-day working week has been in the banking sector. Employee unions have insisted that a shorter working week would provide more work-life balance, and in turn allow employees to be productive during working days.
For customers, any change in banking holidays would require adjustments in their planning of branch visits. With digital banking becoming more and more prevalent, many of the most routine transactions can be carried out without a branch visit.
The strike once again puts the demand for a five-day banking week into focus and underscores the ongoing talks between bank employees and the authorities.
When possible, customers should plan their banking activities, especially around the strike, to do so digitally and do their banking routine through digital channels. Only those who need immediate, specialised banking services should do so if they’re not able to do it on time at all.
