- Bank unions have announced a nationwide strike on September 11 over critical demands including five-day banking, performance-linked incentives, and pension reforms.
- The three-day strike is planned from September 28 to 30, coinciding with the half-yearly closure of banks.
- An indefinite strike is threatened from October 26 if the unions' demands are not addressed.
- The decision for the strikes was made during a UFBU meeting on Sunday, citing the government's 'negative attitude' towards their demands.
- The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) agreed to a five-day banking proposal as part of the 12th Bipartite Settlement signed on March 8, 2024, but it has remained pending for over two years.
- The unions have opposed the revised PLI scheme from the Finance Ministry, claiming it is discriminatory and violates previous agreements with the IBA.
- The PLI issue is currently under conciliation before the Chief Labour Commissioner and is also being litigated in the Delhi High Court.
The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) is set to disrupt banking services with a nationwide strike on September 11, fueled by demands for a five-day banking week and a rollback of the performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. The unions argue that the PLI framework is discriminatory, offering higher incentives to senior officers while neglecting lower-ranked employees.156
"The IBA has agreed in the 12" BPS/9" Joint Note signed on 8" March, 2024 to introduce 5 days banking... and the same has been duly recommended to the Government," UFBU stated, highlighting the delay in implementation.
The unions also demand pension reforms, including pension updation and a uniform dearness allowance formula. If their demands are ignored, they plan a three-day strike from September 28 and an indefinite strike starting October 26.23
The PLI issue is currently under conciliation before the Chief Labour Commissioner and is also being litigated in the Delhi High Court. The UFBU claims that the government’s PLI scheme violates previous agreements with the Indian Banks' Association (IBA), which stipulated that incentives should be linked to overall bank performance.7
If the strike proceeds, banking services, especially in public sector banks, will be severely impacted for four days, coinciding with bank holidays following September 11. The UFBU's actions reflect growing frustration over the government's 'negative attitude' towards their demands, as stated in their recent meeting.4
“The UFBU, representing nine unions, says the five-day banking proposal has been pending for over two years despite IBA's March 2024 agreement. The PLI dispute is under conciliation before the Chief Labour Commissioner and pending in the Delhi High Court, with crediting of the DFS scheme already commenced.”
livemint.com
