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Five-day banking demand and opposition to PLI scheme trigger nationwide protest; unions accuse government of ignoring pending issues
Pooja Srivastava
Anytime News Network
. Public sector banking services were hit on Friday as bank employees across the country observed a one-day strike demanding a five-day banking week, a non-discriminatory Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and settlement of long-pending issues.
The disruption was visible in Lucknow, where employees of public sector banks joined the protest. The closure of branches meant that customers depending on counter services had to face delays and inconvenience.
A protest meeting was held at Indian Bank in Hazratganj under the leadership of forum state convenor Comrade Y.K. Arora. Bank employees said they had been raising their demands through demonstrations, black-badge campaigns, posters and social-media campaigns for a considerable period, but claimed that meaningful resolution had not followed.
Addressing the gathering, Dinesh Kumar Singh questioned why bank employees were being denied a five-day working arrangement when institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, LIC, SEBI and NABARD already follow a five-working-day system.
S.K. Sangtani demanded immediate suspension of what he described as a discriminatory PLI scheme imposed by the government. Laxman Singh also called for a review of alleged PLI payments running into lakhs of rupees to senior officials in some banks.
Other bank leaders demanded early settlement of issues pending under bilateral agreements. They said employees were no longer willing to accept assurances and wanted concrete action.
According to media in-charge Anil Tiwari, nearly 10,000 bank employees from around 905 branches in Lucknow participated in the strike. The unions have announced further escalation if their demands remain unresolved, including a three-day nationwide strike on September 28, 29 and 30, followed by an indefinite nationwide strike in October.
The widening confrontation raises concerns over repeated disruption of banking services and its impact on ordinary customers and businesses. With another round of industrial action already announced, pressure is now mounting on the government and banking managements to find a settlement before the dispute causes a longer disruption to essential financial services.
