Banks to stay open on Sunday ahead of three-day nationwide strike

Banks will stay open this Sunday ahead of a three-day nationwide strike starting from September 28. The government announced this move following a failed conciliation meeting before the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner on Tuesday. Before that meeting, the Finance Ministry had asked bank employees to drop the strike plan and talk about their demands instead. The United Forum of Bank Unions, which says it represents ninety percent of the banking workforce, decided to go ahead with the protest. Their main demand is a five-day banking week. Union members also staged a nationwide strike on September 11 over the exact same five-day work week demand. Their other key demands include better pensions, a uniform dearness allowance formula for all retired staff, and an option for employees under the National Pension System to switch back to the old pension scheme. Public sector banks have already issued warnings to customers. They are asking people to use digital options like mobile banking, ATMs, internet banking, and UPI if the strike takes place. The three-day walkout also happens to land right on the half-yearly closing of banks on September 30, which is an important date for financial reconciliation and treasury work.