Athira Sethu
Kochi, 22 May 2026
Staffs of State Bank of India (SBI) have planned a two-day strike across the country on May 25 and 26, following years of unresolved problems. Some of the problems include recruitments of personnel, outsourcing of permanent positions, pension related concerns, and inter circle transfers.
The strikes were planned by the All India State Bank of India Staff Federation (AISBISF). In a statement addressed to Members of Parliament (MPs) and the central government, the trade union requested assistance to sort out the problems by holding negotiations with SBI management. In an official letter to the MPs, AISBISF noted that continued failure in negotiations left no other alternative than resorting to protests. The union also emphasized that the normal communication process within the organization is getting increasingly inefficient, thereby making employees frustrated.
Among other problems, the union highlighted the non-recruitment of messengers. According to the trade union, such messengers carry highly classified documents, cash, and packages from one branch to another. Moreover, the union expressed dissatisfaction regarding non-recruitments of messenger staff for almost three decades, noting that both employees and the general population are negatively affected. Also, the union alleged that the bank fails to serve poor people and unemployed youth.
Security is yet another problem. While the number of theft and assaults on ATMs and branch offices have increased, SBI has not taken any measures since their last employment of armed guards in 2022.
AISBISF also pointed out how SBI had outsourced permanent posts, such as those in trade financing, agriculture, messengerial work, and armed guarding, which it had agreed to prior. This, AISBISF argues, goes against the agreements made, impacts the quality of service provided, and endangers customer confidentiality.
Moreover, AISBISF mentioned several issues related to pensions as well. Despite several orders by the Government of India asking SBI to allow annual fund manager changes for the pension funds, the same had not been followed by SBI till date, harming the interests of 1.1 lakh members of the union.
Inter-circle transfer is one more issue brought up by the union. In a previous settlement, SBI had agreed to continue transfers of employees recruited after January 2019.
Union officials have asked MPs to raise this issue with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labour and Employment, and Department of Financial Services, and get SBI management to join the negotiation table.
The proposed strike has also been endorsed by the UNI Global Union, based out of Switzerland. The Union congratulated the workers for standing up to job outsourcing and casualization. “You are not alone. Good luck,” said Christy Hoffman, General Secretary, UNI Global Union.
