Bank and Insurance Employees announce Strike on 20 May; SBI, LIC will remain closed

Bank Unions have announced strike on 20 May 2025 against the anti-staff policies of Indian Government. This strike is not just in Banks but also in other central organisations. Other central trade unions are also participating in this strike.

The three major bank employee unions – All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA), and Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) – have jointly announced a nationwide strike on 20th May 2025. The strike is being called to protest against what they describe as “anti-worker and pro-corporate policies” of the central government.

Why are the bank unions going on strike?

According to a joint statement issued by the union leaders, the government is taking steps that are hurting the rights of workers, especially in the banking and insurance sectors. They say that instead of strengthening public sector banks and insurance companies, the government is trying to privatize them, increase corporate control, and reduce job security.

The unions are also angry about the government’s new labour codes, which they believe will weaken trade unions and make it easier for companies to exploit workers.

Main Demands of the Strike:

The Bank unions have mentioned their most important demands in the letter. Their demands are:

• Stop the privatisation of public sector banks and insurance companies.
• Stop 100% FDI (foreign direct investment) in the insurance sector.
• Merge public sector general insurance companies into one entity for better efficiency.
• Recruit more staff in banks and insurance companies.
• Stop outsourcing and contract jobs in permanent roles.
• Scrap the New Pension Scheme (NPS) and bring back the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
• Take strong action to recover bad loans from big corporates.
• Reduce service charges on common banking services for ordinary people.
• Remove GST on insurance premiums for life and health policies.
• Stop implementing the new labour codes that are seen as anti-worker.
• Protect trade union rights and don’t interfere in workers’ movements.

Support from Other Unions

Apart from AIBEA, AIBOA, and BEFI, the strike has received support from several other major unions including:

• All India Insurance Employees Association (AIIEA)
• All India LIC Employees Federation (AILICEF)
• All India National Life Insurance Employees Federation (AINLIEF)

Other Unions – AIBOC, NCBE, INBEF, and INBOC have extended their fraternal support to the strike.

Strike Notice and Programme

The unions have already served a formal strike notice. Here is the full programme leading up to the strike:

Why Bank Employees are not Happy?

The Government has made some recent changes in the banking sector and Employees are protesting against it. Some of the changes as highlighted by employees are:

• The Government is interfering in internal banking matters and trying to impose rules such as employee performance review after the age of 55/57, which may affect job security. Will the Employees be removed after age of 55 or 57 years? Employees are worried about this rule as performance review at such age should not be done.
• The Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) system is being changed unilaterally for senior officers. A notification was released and Senior Bank Officers of Scale IV and above were to be given PLI upto 100% of Basic Pay whereas junior Employees were to be paid only a meagre PLI. This has been put on hold as of now.
• The demand for 5-day banking is being delayed despite discussions. The Bipartite Settlement was signed last year in March but still 5 Day Banking has not been implemented. Various discussions are ongoing but no proper decision is being taken.

What Do the Unions Say?

The union leaders – C.H. Venkatachalam (AIBEA), Sanjay Kumar Khan (AIBOA), and Debasish Basu Choudhury (BEFI) – have jointly appealed to all members to actively participate in the protest and make the strike on 20th May a grand success. They say this is not just a fight for bank employees but part of a larger movement to protect the rights of all workers across India. Click here to read more news.