Bank unions call for nationwide strike on Sept 11 over 5-Day banking and incentive disparities

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has announced a nationwide strike on September 11, citing delays in introducing a five-day banking, disputes over the Performance-linked Incentive (PLI) framework, and unresolved pension issues.  

If the strike materialises, banking services, especially in public sector banks, would be impacted for four days in many parts of the country.

September 11 is a Friday, and the subsequent two days are bank holidays.

September 14 is a holiday in some states for Ganesh Chaturthi. 

The UFBU, an umbrella organization representing nine bank staff and officer unions, has warned of further industrial action. The group plans a three-day strike starting September 28—matching the financial half-yearly closure followed by an indefinite strike from October 26 if the government and bank managements fail to address their demands. 

Union representatives stated that the decision follows a Sunday meeting prompted by what they termed a uncooperative stance from authorities. 

Addressing the five-day workweek demand, the UFBU noted that the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) accepted the proposal under the 12th Bipartite Settlement signed on March 8, 2024. The agreement included extending daily working hours by 40 minutes from Monday to Friday. Although the proposal was forwarded to the central government for final approval, it has remained stalled for over two years. 

Under the current government framework, senior officers in Scale IV and above can receive incentives worth up to 365 days of basic pay based on individual metrics. In contrast, general workmen and officers up to Scale III are capped at a maximum of 15 days of basic pay plus dearness allowance. 

The issue of PLI is currently under conciliation before the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) following the strike call issued by the UFBU and is also pending before the Delhi High Court, it claimed.

The UFBU further alleged that despite the pendency of conciliation proceedings and its offer to hold bilateral discussions with the IBA, the Department of Financial Services (DFS) has advised banks to implement the government's performance-linked incentive scheme.

Crediting of performance-linked incentive under the DFS scheme has now actually commenced in the banks, the UFBU said, alleging that this was in violation of the status quo obligation during conciliation proceedings.

The UFBU argued that the present PLI scheme suggested by the DFS would disproportionately benefit a small section of officers and undermine the principle of uniformity in incentives across cadres.

The other residual demands, including updation and improvement of pension, a uniform dearness allowance formula for all pensioners and an option for employees covered under the National Pension System (NPS) to switch to the old pension scheme (OPS), also remained unresolved.  (with inputs from PTI)