The Indian government has passed a notification that says the banking sector will get included in the list of public utility services under the Industrial Disputes Act for a period of six months. This means the employees of banks cannot resort to any strike or agitation during this period.
The employees in the various banks in India have very strong unions of both officers and other employees. There are many of them but when it comes to agitating for their personal benefits etc., they work in tandem. They also negotiate their wage agreements with the Indian Banks Association (IBA) every three years.
The circular is dated April 20, 2020 and this has gone out from the Department of Financial Services in the Ministry of Finance to the Reserve Bank of India and has said that the Labour and Employment Ministry through a notification has declared “banking industry as a public utility service” for six months with effect from April 21.
The circular has been sent to the chairmen of all banks as well. With the economy tottering due to the coronavirus lockdown, the last thing the government wants is for the bank employees to go on strike.
There are several issues on which the bank unions don’t agree with the decisions of the government. The latest is the merger of several banks. The unions have been saying that this will lead to the closing down of many branches due to consolidation and will lead to loss of jobs. The government on its part has assured the unions that there will be no loss of jobs due to the mergers. Many had expected that with the lockdown being in effect, the mergers may be postponed beyond the April 1 deadline. However, the government has gone ahead with the mergers. Even otherwise, the process was likely to take a few months for a full implementation at the branch levels and this may get delayed.