Strike by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on Friday has hit the banking services in the state. The bank employees and officers pressed for five-day banking and opposed the government’s performance-linked incentive (PLI) structure.
Narendra Sharma, convenor of the UFBU, Himachal Pradesh, said the strike was primarily aimed at pressing for the implementation of a five-day banking week and raising objections to the “discriminatory” manner in which performance-linked incentives had been introduced in public sector banks.
He said the demand for five-day banking had been pending since 2015. According to Sharma, bank employees had earlier surrendered half-day working on Saturdays in exchange for the introduction of holidays on the second and fourth Saturdays, while continuing to press for a complete five-day banking system.
He said bank employees had earlier gone on a nationwide strike on January 26 and 27 over the issue, but the government had still not taken a decision even after more than six months, leaving the unions with no option but to intensify their agitation.
Outlining the next phase of the agitation, Sharma said the unions would observe a three-day nationwide strike from September 28 to 30, followed by an indefinite nationwide strike from October 26.
