Around 75,000 bank employees across Gujarat will go on a one-day strike on September 11, demanding that banks operate only five days a week. The strike is expected to affect around 5,400 bank branches across the state and disrupt transactions worth nearly ₹15,000 crore.
The protest is part of a nationwide strike in which around 7 lakh bank employees are expected to participate.The employees are demanding that Saturdays and Sundays be made weekly holidays, with banking operations limited to Monday to Friday. They had agreed to work an additional 40 minutes each day to compensate for the change.
The demand was accepted through an MoU in March 2024, but employees say it has still not been implemented.At present, only the second and fourth Saturdays are holidays for banks, while branches remain open on the other Saturdays.Employees’ unions have held two meetings with the Labour Commissioner in Delhi, but no satisfactory solution was reached.
As a result, unions have decided to proceed with the strike.If the issue remains unresolved, another strike will be held from September 28 to 30. The unions have also warned of an indefinite strike from October 26 if their demands are not accepted.