Govt halts PLI scheme, urges bankers to drop strike
The Ministry of Finance has issued an urgent appeal to employees of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), urging them to refrain from proposed strike action and ensure uninterrupted financial services for citizens. The appeal comes after the Government proactively accepted one of the unions’ primary demands by keeping the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme in abeyance following detailed discussions.
Despite this major concession, United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has said they would go ahead with the three-day nationwide strike beginning September 28 to press for a five-day workweek, as a conciliation meeting before the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner on Tuesday remained inconclusive. The three-day disruption directly overlaps with the vital half-yearly financial closing on September 30, threatening a five-day blackout of public banking operations when combined with the preceding weekend.
In a formal directive issued on September 21, 2026, to the leadership of all nationalised banks, Joint Secretary (Banking) Shalini Pandit highlighted the Government’s dual approach of maintaining dialogue while enforcing strict operational readiness, emphasising that bank management shall make all efforts to persuade employees to refrain from striking and apprise them of recent employee welfare measures, while noting that any incident of obstruction or restriction of entry of non-striking employees into branches or critical infrastructure may be dealt with appropriately.
To minimise public disruption, the Department of Financial Services (DFS) has instructed banks to ensure at least one branch per district remains functional using non-striking staff, probationers, or senior officers. All employee leave from September 24 through September 30 has been cancelled. The DFS is also liaising with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to keep branches open over the weekend of September 26 and 27, while waiving inter-bank ATM fees and increasing cash transaction limits for Business Correspondents (BCs).
To safeguard critical assets — such as Currency Chests, Data Centres, and Clearing Centres — the DFS has enlisted the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to coordinate local law enforcement and maintain order. Banks have been directed to document any forceful closures using CCTV and file First Information Reports (FIRs) against violators.
Highlighting past welfare steps, including major salary hikes, a 56 per cent increase in the Staff Welfare Fund, enhanced pensions, and declaring 2nd and 4th Saturdays as holidays in 2015, the Government reiterated that remaining Saturdays are essential for public banking access. Officials urged unions to drop strike action and resolve the remaining request through constructive dialogue.
