Bank strike disrupts services across Jamshedpur, Kolhan
PINAKI MAJUMDAR Jamshedpur, September 11: Banking operations across Jamshedpur and the wider Kolhan region were severely disrupted on Friday as employees of…
PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, September 11: Banking operations across Jamshedpur and the wider Kolhan region were severely disrupted on Friday as employees of various banks observed a one-day strike in response to a nationwide call by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) over several long-pending demands.
From early morning, bank employees staged demonstrations outside major branches, including the Punjab National Bank main branch in Bistupur and State Bank of India’s zonal offices near Kachhari Chowk. The protesters raised slogans against the Central Government and pressed for early resolution of their demands.
The strike brought several essential banking services to a halt, including cash deposits and withdrawals, cheque clearance, demand drafts and passbook updates.
Employees of major public sector banks, including SBI, PNB, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and Bank of India, participated in the strike.
The disruption is expected to extend through the weekend, with Saturday and Sunday being weekly holidays. As a result, customers could face difficulties accessing regular banking services for nearly 72 hours.
The strike also affected business centres and industrial areas of Jamshedpur, with banking transactions worth crores of rupees reportedly impacted.
However, digital banking services, UPI transactions and most ATMs continued to function, providing some relief to customers. With increased dependence on cash withdrawals during the strike, concerns have also emerged over some ATMs running short of cash over the weekend.
Five-day banking week among key demands
The nationwide strike was called to press for a range of long-pending demands. One of the key demands of the unions is the immediate implementation of a five-day banking week, with all Saturdays declared holidays.
The unions said the provision had been agreed upon in the 2024 wage settlement but has not yet been implemented.
Bank employees also demanded changes to the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) system, which they termed discriminatory, particularly in its application to senior officers. They sought a more uniform and bank-performance-based mechanism for PLI.
Other demands include the resolution of pending wage- and service-related issues and measures to protect employees’ interests.
The strike resulted in significant disruption to physical banking operations across Jamshedpur and the Kolhan region, although digital payment channels continued to provide an alternative for customers.
