The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has announced a nationwide strike on September 11 over the delay in implementing five-day banking, differences over the performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme and several other pending demands, including pension-related issues.
If the strike goes ahead, banking services, particularly at public sector banks, are likely to be disrupted for four consecutive days in many parts of the country. September 11 falls on a Friday, followed by two days of bank holidays. September 14 is also a holiday in some states on account of Ganesh Chaturthi.
The UFBU, an umbrella body of nine bank employees' and officers' unions, has also threatened a three-day nationwide strike from September 28, coinciding with the half-yearly closure. It has further warned of an indefinite strike from October 26 if its demands are not addressed by the government and bank management.
The decision was taken at a meeting on Sunday, following what the unions described as the government's 'negative attitude' towards their key demands, the UFBU said in a statement.
On five-day banking, the UFBU said the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) had agreed to the proposal as part of the 12th Bipartite Settlement and 9th Joint Note signed on March 8, 2024. Under the agreement, working hours would be increased by 40 minutes from Monday to Friday.
The proposal was subsequently recommended to the government but has remained pending for more than two years, the unions said.
The unions have also opposed the government's PLI scheme for bank officers in Scale IV and above, arguing that it differs from the understanding reached with the IBA. According to the UFBU, the agreement was that performance-linked incentives would be based on the overall performance of individual banks and would be uniform for employees and officers up to Scale VII.
Under the government's scheme, officers in Scale IV and above could receive PLI of up to 365 days of basic pay based on individual performance, while workmen employees and officers up to Scale III would receive a maximum of 15 days' basic pay plus dearness allowance, the UFBU said.
The PLI issue 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, according to the unions.
The UFBU alleged that, despite the ongoing conciliation proceedings and its offer to hold bilateral discussions with the IBA, the Department of Financial Services (DFS) had advised banks to implement the government's PLI scheme.
The unions said banks had now begun crediting PLI payments under the DFS scheme, alleging that this violated the status quo obligation during the conciliation proceedings.
The UFBU argued that the DFS scheme would disproportionately benefit a small section of officers and undermine the principle of uniformity in incentives across cadres.
Other unresolved demands include the updation and improvement of pensions, 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).
(With inputs from PTI)
