Nationwide Strike on 9 July, Banks and Other Departments will remain Closed

The Nationwide general strike is scheduled to be held on 9th July 2025. 15 crore workers are expected to join this strike. Bank Employees will also join this strike as the demand of 5 Day Banking has not been fulfilled yet.

Main Demands of the Strike:

The main reason for the strike is to protest against what the unions describe as increasing attacks on workers and anti-worker labour policies by the Central Government. Some of the key issues raised are:

• Labour policies that hurt workers’ rights
• Economic policies that harm the common people
• Introduction of new Labour Codes that reduce worker protection
• Growing privatisation of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)
• The scrapping of the Old Pension Scheme and the imposition of the New Pension Scheme (NPS)
• Lack of proper job opportunities for unemployed youth

Demands of Bank Employees

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.

Earlier the strike was scheduled on 20 May but it was postponed due to war like situation in the country.

AIBEA had said: Following our strike notice, tensions at the borders and the ceasefire announced on 10th evening prompted a review of our strike call. Although the situation has eased, it remains unsettled. In this context, the Central Trade Unions met today and decided to postpone the General Strike to 9th July. Accordingly, our strike in support of the General Strike is also postponed to 9th July.

Major trade unions from the banking and insurance sectors have come together to support the nationwide General Strike, protesting against the central government’s labour and economic policies. The strike is part of a larger movement initiated by the National Convention of Workers, which has urged all sectors to unite against what they describe as anti-worker and anti-people policies.

To discuss their participation in this strike, a virtual meeting was held on April 24, 2025, through Google Meet. Representatives from the following major organisations took part:

• All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA)
• All India  Insurance Employees Association (AIIEA)
• National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE)
• All India LIC Employees Federation (AILICEF)
• All India Bank Officers Association (AIBOA)
• Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI)
• Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC)
• All India National Life  Insurance Employees’ Federation (AINLIEF)

During the meeting, unions welcomed the decision of the Central Trade Unions to hold the strike and agreed that the current government policies are harmful to workers and the general public. Six major unions – AIBEA, AIIEA, AILICEF, AIBOA, BEFI, and AINLIEF – confirmed their decision to participate in the strike.