The proposed three-day nationwide bank strike from Sept 28 to 30 has been deferred after late-night talks on Sunday between the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), JagranJosh and Daily Jagran reported. Banks are open and operating normally on Monday.

Key concessions include the immediate formation of a high-level joint committee of the IBA and UFBU to examine the demand to declare all Saturdays as bank holidays. At present, only the second and fourth Saturdays are holidays, NationPress reported.

Talks will also begin on revising the performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for officers of Scale IV and above, and other pending issues from the March 2024 minutes will be taken up, according to the reports.

The strike had been called over the five-day work week demand and PLI issues. As a precaution, many public sector banks and regional rural banks had kept branches open on Sunday, Sept 27. The deferral avoids disruption during the half-yearly closing period.

The deferral is a postponement, not a settlement — the unions may revive the strike call if talks stall. Digital banking and UPI services were never affected.