SBI Employees Threaten Nationwide Strike on May 25-26 Over Recruitment, Outsourcing and Pension Issues

Employees of the State Bank of India (SBI) have threatened to go on a two-day nationwide strike on May 25 and 26, raising concerns over recruitment delays, outsourcing of permanent jobs, pension-related grievances, and transfer policies.

The strike call was given by the All India State Bank of India Staff Federation (AISBISF), which alleged that discussions with the bank management had failed to resolve several long-pending employee demands.

In a letter addressed to Members of Parliament, the union said growing frustration among employees and the weakening of the bilateral negotiation mechanism had forced workers to consider agitational programmes, including the proposed strike.

Recruitment And Outsourcing Concerns Take Centre Stage

One of the major concerns raised by the union was the lack of recruitment for messenger posts for nearly three decades. According to the federation, these employees play a critical role in transporting sensitive documents, cash, and packages between branches.

The union also highlighted delays in the recruitment of armed guards, stating that fresh hiring had not taken place since 2022 despite rising incidents of ATM thefts and attacks on bank branches.

AISBISF further accused SBI of increasing outsourcing in permanent operational roles such as trade finance, agricultural associate services, messengerial duties, and security services. The union claimed this move violated earlier labour settlements and negatively impacted job security and service quality.

The federation also warned that outsourcing sensitive banking functions could expose customers to risks related to data privacy, misuse of KYC information, fraud, and identity theft.

Pension And Transfer Issues Add to Employee Dissatisfaction

The union alleged that SBI had failed to implement provisions allowing National Pension System (NPS) subscribers to change pension fund managers annually, despite government and regulatory guidelines.

According to AISBISF, poor pension fund performance had affected retirement savings for thousands of employees and officers.

The federation also raised objections over the suspension of inter-circle transfers for employees recruited after 2019, claiming the move violated a 2017 settlement agreement.

Global Labour Body Extends Support

Switzerland-based UNI Global Union extended support to the proposed strike, stating that finance sector employees worldwide were facing similar challenges linked to outsourcing and casualisation of jobs.

Conclusion

The proposed SBI strike highlights growing tensions between employees and management over staffing, outsourcing, pension management, and labour agreements. With SBI being India’s largest public sector bank, any large-scale employee action could impact banking operations and customer services across the country if the dispute remains unresolved.

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