The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), representing more than 90 per cent of the banking workforce, has announced a nationwide strike on September 11 over unresolved demands, including implementation of a five-day banking week and differences over the government’s revised Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. The forum has also called for a three-day strike from September 28 to 30 and warned of an indefinite strike from October 26 if its demands are not addressed. The UFBU comprises seven unions and represents employees across public sector, private, foreign, regional rural and cooperative banks.
Five-day banking demand
The unions said the demand for a five-day banking week has remained pending despite an agreement reached with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). Under the wage settlement signed on March 8, 2024, employees agreed to work an additional 40 minutes from Monday to Friday in return for all Saturdays being declared holidays. The proposal was subsequently recommended to the Finance Ministry but is yet to receive approval. The unions maintained that customer service hours would not be reduced because the additional weekday working time would compensate for Saturdays becoming holidays.
Dispute over incentive scheme
The second major point of contention is the revised PLI framework. The unions said the earlier arrangement provided incentives ranging from one to 15 days’ wages depending on a bank’s performance. Under the revised formula for officers in Scale IV to VII, however, senior officers could receive incentives of up to 365 days’ basic pay based on individual performance, while the remaining workforce would receive a maximum equivalent to 15 days’ wages. The UFBU has termed the arrangement discriminatory and demanded that it be withdrawn and modified through bilateral discussions.
The dispute is under conciliation before the Chief Labour Commissioner and is also pending before the Delhi High Court. The unions alleged that the Department of Financial Services nevertheless directed banks on August 21 to proceed with implementation of the revised scheme.
The UFBU has also sought resolution of other pending issues, including pension-related demands. Union leaders said the agitation had been forced upon them because of the actions of the government and bank managements.