On February 12, two major nationwide strikes are set to take place in India — a bank employees’ strike and a joint protest by trade unions and farmer organizations. How will this impact banking services? Which customer services may be disrupted? And why are bank unions going on strike? We break it all down in today’s financial bulletin.
Several major bank unions, including AIBEA, AIBOA, and BEFI, have called for the strike. SBI has already alerted customers about possible disruptions in branch services such as cash deposits, withdrawals, cheque clearances, and other in-person banking transactions. While online banking and ATM services are expected to function, minor delays cannot be ruled out.
The primary reason behind the strike is opposition to the government’s four new labour codes. Unions argue that these codes weaken workers’ rights and make trade union registration more difficult. Bank employees are also demanding a 5-day work week, citing increasing workload and work-life balance concerns.
At the same time, 10 central trade unions along with farmer organizations have called for a nationwide protest (Bharat Bandh) on February 12, 2026. The protest is largely against the proposed India-US trade deal. Farmer groups claim that opening Indian markets to American dairy products, soybean oil, and other agricultural goods could harm domestic farmers and benefit multinational corporations.
In the second half of the show, we discuss new unemployment data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation for Q3 of FY 2025-26. While unemployment has dropped to 4.8% — the lowest this financial year — the share of salaried employees has declined. Self-employment has risen to 56.3%, and the Worker Population Ratio has improved, driven largely by increased female participation.
Is India seeing a shift from salaried jobs to self-employment? What does this trend mean for the economy?
Watch the full episode to understand the impact of the February 12 strikes and the latest employment trends in India.
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