NEW DELHI: In a significant development, the Indian Banks’ Association and bank employee unions have agreed on five-day workweek for all PSU bank employees. The Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the Ministry of Finance, has given its nod to it, as per sources in the know.
The government will issue a formal notification in this regard. Besides this, both the IBA and banks’ unions have also had consensus on 17% hike in annual wage hike with effect from November 01, 2022.
“Today marks a significant milestone for the #bankingindustry as IBA and #UFBU #AIBOA #AIBASM and #BKSM have signed the 9th Joint Note and 12th #Bipartite Settlement regarding #Wage Revision for Bank Officers and Employees, which will take effect on November 1, 2022. @PIB_India #dfs,” IBA chief executive officer Sunil Mehta said in a tweet.
The new five-day workweek decision is projected to incur an additional annual expenditure of about `8,284 crore for public sector banks. This wage increase, effective from November 2022, is anticipated to benefit approximately 800,000 bank employees.
Following the agreement between the IBA and bank employee unions, the new pay scales for PSU bank employees incorporate the merging of Dearness Allowance linked to 8088 points. As per the joint declaration, the effective load on the basic pay after merging the dearness allowance at 30.38% with an applicable 3.22% load stands at 4.20%.
In the revised wage settlement, female employees are granted one sick leave day per month without the need for a medical certificate.
In addition, accumulated privilege leave can be monetized up to 255 days upon retirement or in case of an employee’s demise during service. Retired individuals will receive a monthly ex-gratia payment, alongside the pension or family pension from Public Sector Banks including SBI. This is applicable to pensioners and family pensioners entitled to receive pension by October 31, 2022, including those who retired on that specific date.
Govt to issue a formal notification on this issue
The government will issue a formal notification in this regard. Besides this, both the IBA and banks’ unions have also had consensus on 17% hike in annual wage hike with effect from November 1, 2022.