The proposed nationwide strike by State Bank of India employees on May 25-26 has now been postponed. This decision was taken after positive talks between the bank management and employee unions in Mumbai. There were signs of progress on many important issues between the two sides, due to which it was agreed to postpone the strike.
Big relief to customers, services will continue
After the strike was postponed, SBI has clarified that all branches will remain open normally on 25th and 26th May. The bank informed its approximately 52 crore customers that there will be no impact on banking services. Earlier it was estimated that banking operations may be affected for several days continuously due to the strike, but now the situation will remain normal.
Major demands of employees
All India SBI Employees Federation had called for a strike with 16-point demands. These included adequate recruitment, ban on outsourcing, improvement in career progression schemes, increase in medical reimbursement and resolution of HRMS related issues. Apart from this, displeasure was also expressed regarding reduction in recruitment of clerks, increasing workload and pension related problems.
progress in talks
Sudeep Dutta, Secretary of SBI Staff Association Bengal Circle, said that the meeting held with the management was positive and many demands were agreed upon. Whereas General Secretary of the federation L. Chandrashekhar also said that due to progress in the discussions, the strike has been postponed for the time being.
Relief to customers and banking system
This decision has brought great relief to crores of customers, because banking services could have been affected due to the strike. Apart from this, in view of the holidays of fourth Saturday, Sunday and Eid-ul-Azha, there was a possibility of banking disruption for several consecutive days, which has now ended.
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