New Delhi: Banks, particularly the public sector ones, are likely to remain closed on several days in September, with the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) announcing a series of nationwide strikes over two key demands.
On Sunday, the umbrella body of major bank employee and officer unions pressed for a five-day banking week and the withdrawal of the government’s revised performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
There will be a strike on September 11, followed by a three-day one from September 28-30. Bankers have threatened to go on an indefinite strike from October 26 onwards.
Recalling the terms of the 12th Bipartite Settlement and the 9th Joint Note, signed in March 2024, regarding a five-day work week, the UFBU said that the proposal is still awaiting government approval more than two years later, as reported by Mint.
Its notice over the 5 day work week demand said: “The IBA has agreed in the 12″ BPS/9″ Joint Note signed on 8″ March, 2024 to introduce 5 days banking (by increasing 40 minutes of working hours daily from Monday to Friday) and the same has been duly recommended to the Government.”
The finance ministry’s revised PLI framework has also been opposed by the unions that have called it discriminatory as it offers substantially higher incentives to officers in Scale IV and above based on individual performance.
“DFS/Finance Ministry has directed Banks to implement a different PLI scheme for Scale IV officers and above. Under this Scheme, the officers from Scale IV and above would be paid PLI upto 365 days of Basic Pay based on their individual performance, while workmen employees and officers upto Scale IlI would be paid a maximum of 15 days Basic Pay+DA,” the UFBU circular said, alleging a violation of the agreement between the Unions and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
The PLI scheme was meant to be linked to the performance of the bank as a whole, with a uniform number of days applicable to all employees up to Scale VII, the umbrella body said. The unions argued that the revised framework violates the agreement reached with the Indian Banks Association (IBA) under the Bipartite Settlement.
The unions have also pressed for bilateral discussions to resolve residual issues, including pension updation, a uniform DA formula for all pensioners and an option for employees under the National Pension System (NPS) to switch to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). The PLI issue is currently under conciliation before the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) and is also being litigated in the Delhi High Court, the circular said.
The UFBU had earlier opposed any top-down, market-centric restructuring of public sector banks. The Forum of Bank Unions pushed for democratic boards, greater stakeholder representation and restoration of public-purpose banking. It also demanded fair, inflation-protected returns on small deposits and expansion of direct branch-based lending to small borrowers.
