Union Bank Says Some Employees To Go On Strike On Sept. 27, Operations May Get Affected

Union Bank of India Ltd. on Thursday said that operations at some of its branches may get affected on Sept. 27 as a section of employees will proceed with a strike.

Earlier this month, the All India Union Bank Officers' Federation and the All India Bank Employees Association, which represent a majority of the bank's workers, had called a strike on Sept. 27 to "oppose unilateralism of bank management.".

Both the unions have decided to withdraw their strike call, Union Bank said in an exchange filing. However, a joint forum of some other employee unions—AIUBEF, AIUBSF, UBSA and UBIEU—has decided to go ahead with the strike, it added.

These unions represent around 7% of the total workforce, the lender said. The workers affiliated with them consist of customer service associates and office assistants.

"In the event of materialising a strike, the functioning of the bank’s branches and administrative offices in some locations may be affected," the filing stated.

"The bank is unable to quantify the loss on account of said strike," it further noted.

Union Bank, a state-run lender, employed over 75,000 people till the end of fiscal year 2024. In the quarter ended June 2024, the bank's net profit increased 13.6% year-on-year to Rs 3,236 crore and its net interest income climbed 6.5% YoY to Rs 8,840 crore.

Shares of the bank settled almost flat at Rs 126.96 apiece on the NSE on Thursday, compared to a 0.81% rise in the benchmark Nifty 50. Year-to-date, the stock is up 6.6%.

Out of 11 analysts tracking the company, nine have a 'buy' rating on the stock, one suggests a 'hold', and one recommends a 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analyst price targets implies a potential upside of 22.7%.