Growing Unrest in Banking Sector! IOB Employees Protest Across India

Employees of Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) staged mass demonstrations across more than 80 centres nationwide under the banner of the All India Overseas Bank Employees’ Union (AIOBEU). Employees of Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) have announced a two-day nationwide strike on February 2 and 3, 2026, protesting against severe staff shortages and unresolved recruitment issues in the bank.

The strike is being held due to the bank management’s failure to recruit sufficient staff, especially Customer Service Associates, and against the unilateral introduction of a QR code–based employee evaluation system.

Protest After Over Four Decades on Bank-Specific Issues

This agitation is significant as it has been undertaken after more than four decades on issues specific to Indian Overseas Bank. The union said repeated attempts to resolve these matters through discussions with the management did not bring any results, forcing employees to resort to demonstrations. The protests reflect the deep frustration among employees over acute staff shortages and the growing workload in branches and offices.

The first strike notice was issued on November 10, 2025, proposing strike action on December 1 and 2, 2025. However, the strike was postponed due to conciliation talks. As the bank management did not agree to the employees’ demands, the talks failed. The union then issued a continuation strike notice on January 7, 2026, announcing the strike on February 2 and 3, 2026. The strike schedule is as follows:

The union pointed out that for the year 2026, Indian Overseas Bank has planned to recruit only 250 Customer Service Associates, which is the lowest recruitment figure in the banking sector. This is despite the fact that more than 210 employees are retiring during the current financial year. In addition, the bank has invited applications to promote 385 clerical staff to officer cadre and has opened over 103 new branches in the last nine months, further increasing the workload on existing staff.

Major Demands Raised by Employees

During the demonstrations, employees raised slogans and demanded:

• Adequate recruitment of award staff to address staff shortages
• Immediate processing of compassionate appointments
• Withdrawal of the QR code–based individual feedback system, which employees say is unfair
• Humane and fair transfer policies, especially in cases involving spouse grounds

The union stressed that these demands are essential to ensure smooth functioning of the bank and to protect employee dignity.

Over the past ten years, the clerical workforce of Indian Overseas Bank has reduced by 5,524 employees, severely affecting day-to-day operations at branch level. The union also highlighted that more than 100 families are waiting for jobs on compassionate grounds for over five years after losing their sole earning member, but appointments are being delayed due to the five percent recruitment ceiling.

After prolonged discussions, the bank management increased the proposed recruitment number from 250 to 300, but this increase is grossly inadequate and unacceptable given the current situation.

Apart from staff shortages, the union has strongly opposed the bank’s new QR code–based evaluation system, under which standees with photographs of individual employees are placed in branches to collect customer feedback. The union said banking services are delivered by teams, not individuals, and customer feedback should be taken branch-wise, not by singling out employees.