SBI Employees announce Strike on 25 and 26 May 2026

Employees of India’s Largest Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), are gearing up for a big strike on 25 and 26 May 2026. All India State Bank of India Staff Federation has announced strike on two days, i.e. 25th May 2026 and 26th May 2026. As per the association, the Bank and Government have not fulfilled the following demands yet:

1. Recruitment of Messengers
2. Recruitment of Armed Guards
3. Change of Pension Fund Manager option to NPS Employees
4. Inter Circle Transfers to employees joined from 2019 onwards
5. Stop Outsourcing of Permanent Jobs
6. Recruitment of Adequate Staff
7. Parity Issue in State Bank of India
8. Review of Career Progression Scheme
9. Notional 8th Stagnation Increment to 10th Bipartite Retirees
10. Physician Consultation Charges w.e.f 15.07.2024
11. Improvement in Medical Reimbursement Scheme
12. Add all pay components to the pension of 7th BPS retirees since retirement
13. Resolve HRMS issues
14. Appointment of Workmen Employee Director
15. Appointment of PF Trustee Nominee
16. Stop Mis-selling in the name of Cross-Selling

The programme of strike is as follows:

Let’s understand in detail the reasons of strike

Recruitment of Messengers: The Bank has not undertaken the recruitment of Messengers for the past 29 years. As a result, the subordinate cadre has been drastically depleted due to superannuation, and the few remaining employees are also nearing retirement. Banking work is structured into three categories: Officers, Clerical staff, and Subordinate staff. The prolonged absence of recruitment in the subordinate cadre has placed enormous pressure on the existing workforce.

Recruitment of Armed Guards: The recruitment of armed guards was last conducted by the Bank in the year 2022. Incidents of ATM thefts, robbery attempts, and assaults on bank premises have seen a noticeable rise in recent years across the country.

Change of Pension Fund Manager option to NPS Employees: Despite clear statutory provisions under the Gazette of India dated 31.01.2019 permitting Government subscribers under NPS to choose and change their Pension Fund Manager once every year, and despite all other Public Sector Banks implementing the same, SBI continues to deny this right to both workmen employees and officers.

Inter Circle Transfer to Employees Joined from 2019 onwards: As per the Memorandum of Settlement between State Bank of India and All India State Bank of India Staff Federation dated 27.07.2017, the Inter Circle Transfers of employees have been agreed. The bank has unilaterally stopped Inter Circle Transfers for employees who joined from 2019 onwards.

Stop Outsourcing of Permanent Jobs: As per the Memorandum of Settlements between State Bank of India and All India State Bank of India Staff Federation dated 27.12.2005 and 29.08.2009, it was agreed that the Bank will outsource only maintenance work. But the Bank has outsourced permanent jobs at the Global Trade Finance Centre in Kolkata and Hyderabad, Agricultural Associates’ duties under the guise of FOS, engaging outsourced employees for messengerial work, outsourcing of Armed Guard services.

Recruitment of Adequate Staff: Clerical recruitment has been steadily declining year after year, while the workload on the clerical cadre has increased substantially. Employees are being forced into late sittings and compelled to work on holidays due to an acute staff shortage. Vacancies arising from retirements, resignations, terminations, deaths, and promotions are not being filled, resulting in a serious manpower shortage, increasing the burden on existing staff.

Parity Issue in our Bank: The 12th Bipartite Settlement and the 9th Joint Note at the industry level ensured a uniform increase of 17% on payslip components for both workmen and supervising staff across the banking sector. Immediately after the 9th Joint Note, the Bank introduced Special Pay to officers. This additional allowance has increased officers’ effective payslip increase to nearly 22%, while workmen remain restricted to 17% as per the settlement.

Review of Career Progression Scheme: As per the Memorandum of Settlement between State Bank of India and the All India State Bank of India Staff Federation dated 12.04.1999, the Career Progression Scheme for workmen was introduced with increased duties and responsibilities to enhance the Bank’s profits, profitability, and market share with a clear provision for revision once every five years. The Scheme was subsequently revised in 2006, 2008, 2014, and 2018, and became due for review in 2023. However, despite its importance and established practice of timely revision, the Bank has failed to review the Scheme.

Notional 8th Stagnation Increment to 10th Bipartite Retirees: In terms of provisions under 10th Bipartite Wage Settlement dated 25.05.2015, the benefit of notional 8th stagnation increment for the purpose of pension only should be extended to those workmen retired between 01.05.2015 and 31.03.2016 and who were otherwise eligible for the same, by reckoning the date of eligibility of notional stagnation increment for the purpose of pension calculation, as subsequently clarified by IBA.

Physician Consultation Charges w.e.f 15.07.2024: As per the Memorandum of Settlement between State Bank of India and the All India State Bank of India Staff Federation dated 21.06.2024, Physician Consultation Charges of ₹2,000 per year were agreed with effect from the date of the circular, i.e., 15.07.2024. However, the said benefit was extended only from 01.04.2026, thereby unjustly depriving workmen employees of the benefit for the intervening period.

Improvement in the Bank’s Medical Reimbursement Scheme: The Federation has been persistently demanding a comprehensive revision of the Medical Reimbursement Scheme. However, the last meaningful revision was made on 17.01.2019. Since then, only minor changes have been effected, with no comprehensive review undertaken. In the face of rising medical costs, the Scheme has become outdated and inadequate, and the continued delay in its revision is unjustifiable and unacceptable. The Federation further demands 100% reimbursement of medical expenses, addition of all six tests in pathological tests as per the agreement and inclusion of Panchkarma treatment under the Scheme, in line with present-day healthcare needs and rising costs.

Add all Pay Components to the Pension of 7th BPS retirees since retirement: In respect of those workmen retired during the period between 01.11.1997 and 31.10.2002 under the 7th Bipartite Settlement dated 27.03.2000, the revision of pension should be done by including pay components such as PQP, Increment Component of FPP and CCA Component (where applicable), and arrears thereto should be paid to those eligible workmen from the date of their retirement up to 09.11.2023.

Appointment of Workmen Employee Director on the Board: The nomination of the Workmen Director on the Board, as clearly mandated under the SBI (Appointment of Employee Director) Rules, 1974, continues to be unjustifiably delayed.

Stop Mis-selling in the name of Cross-selling: It is observed that the practice of “cross-selling” of insurance products has been distorted into large-scale mis-selling, driven purely by targets and business pressures by the Bank. Customers are being misled, sold unsuitable products, and often pushed into purchases without proper disclosure or consent, leading to financial loss and erosion of trust.

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