Bank Unions Call Strikes From 11 September, Indefinite Strike From 26 October Over 5-Day Banking, PLI Scheme

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has called for a series of nationwide strikes, including an indefinite strike from 26 October, over the implementation of five-day banking week and the government's revised Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for senior bank officers.

The UFBU, which represents more than 90% of the banking workforce across public sector banks, private sector banks, foreign banks, regional rural banks and co-operative banks, said it will hold an all-India bank strike on 11 September, followed by strikes on 28, 29 and 30 September. It has also called for a continuous, indefinite strike from 26 October, according to its press statement.

The unions' demands include implementation of five-day banking as agreed in the Settlement/Joint Note dated 8 March, 2024, withdrawal of the government's“unilateral and discriminatory” PLI scheme, modification of the scheme through bilateral discussions with unions, and resolution of residual issues.

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On five-day banking, UFBU said banks had agreed in the March 2024 settlement that the remaining Saturdays would be declared holidays, with working hours from Monday to Friday increased by 40 minutes a day.

The proposal was recommended to the finance ministry for approval, but remains pending more than two years later, the unions said.

The unions said there would be no reduction in business hours for customers as employees have agreed to provide an additional 40 minutes of business hours from Monday to Friday.

PLI flashpoint

On the PLI issue, UFBU said the existing scheme was introduced under a November 2020 settlement between the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) and unions and covered workmen employees and officers from Scale I to Scale VII.

Under that scheme, incentive payments ranged from one day's wage to a maximum of 15 days' wage, depending on the performance and profits of individual banks, and were payable uniformly to employees of the bank.

According to UFBU, the Department of Financial Services (DFS), under the finance ministry, directed banks in November 2024 to adopt a revised incentive formula for Scale IV to Scale VII officers.

The unions said they opposed the directive, arguing that it violated the bilateral agreement and introduced discrimination based on individual performance instead of a uniform incentive.

Formula dispute

The unions subsequently held bilateral discussions with the IBA and submitted modifications to the government formula, but said there has been no response from the DFS or government so far.

UFBU said the government advised banks in March 2026 to implement the incentive formula and again advised banks on 21 August to proceed with implementation.

UFBU said it has filed a case in the Delhi High Court against the revised scheme and that the matter is pending.

The unions said the revised scheme provides incentives based on individual performance of officers, with the incentive payable up to 365 days' wages, compared with a maximum of 15 days' wages under the existing bilateral scheme.

The statement said Scale IV to Scale VII officers account for about 40,000 of the total banking workforce of about eight lakh, or around 5%.

UFBU said the maximum incentive for the remaining 95% of staff is one day's wage, while the incentive for the 5% covered by the revised scheme can be up to 365 days' wages.

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The unions also said the dispute remains pending before the Chief Labour Commissioner and alleged that the revised scheme was implemented despite the pendency of the dispute.

UFBU said the revised DFS scheme is contrary to the mutually agreed uniform PLI scheme, shifts the basis of incentive from bank performance to individual performance, and requires officers to be divided into different categories of performers and non-performers.

It also alleged that the scheme would result in disproportionate expenditure for the 5% of the workforce covered by it.

The unions further said the 8 March, 2024 Settlement/Joint Note had identified certain unresolved matters as residual issues. They said issues raised in strike notices served in March 2025 and January 2026 also remain under conciliation and have not been resolved.

“Thus, the agitation has been forced on the Unions due to the actions of the Government and managements,” UFBU said.

Queries sent to the Finance Ministry and the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) on Tuesday evening seeking a response remained unanswered at the time of going to press.

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The statement was issued by C.H. Venkatachalam of AIBEA, Rupam Roy of AIBOC, L. Chandrasekhar of NCBE, Sanjay Khan of AIBOA, Debasish Basu Choudhary of BEFI, Prem Makker of INBOC and O.P. Sharma of INBEF.

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