VIJAYAWADA: Banking services in AP were hit on Tuesday as bank employees resorted to a strike following the nationwide strike call by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU).
The strike was organised to press for the immediate implementation of a five-day work week in banks, a provision agreed upon in the 12th Bipartite Settlement and 9th Joint Note signed on March 8, 2024.
Demonstrations, rallies, cycle rallies, and awareness campaigns such as Janachaitanya Yathra and Jana Jagruthi Yathra were conducted to highlight the issue to the public. Conciliation meetings held on January 22 and 23 failed to resolve it, leading to the strike.
In Vijayawada, massive demonstrations were staged in front of the Union Bank of India Regional Office at RR Appa Rao Street, One Town.
The protest was presided over by N Subba Rao, president of the Krishna District Bank Employees’ Coordination Committee, who led hundreds of employees and officers demanding that the government act without delay. Speakers at the rally strongly criticised the government and the IBA for failing to implement the agreed provisions.
YS Rao, vice president, condemned the delay, pointing out that the IBA had forwarded the proposal to the government in 2024, but approval has been pending for months. He said the prolonged inaction has forced employees to take to the streets.