DA, pension, 5-day work, incentives on list of demands by Bank workers, as union threatens strike on 11 September

Bank unions have threatened to go on a nationwide strike on 11 September to push the government towards implementing their demands, including five-day work week, the performance-linked incentive scheme, dearness allowance, pension and more, according to a PTI report.

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank employees’ and officers’ unions, has called for a strike next month over delays in implementing five-day banking, differences over the PLI scheme for officers at Scale IV and above, uniform DA formula, and unresolved pension-related issues, it added.

Awaiting a response from the Centre, if the strike goes through, daily banking services at most public sector lenders will be impacted for at least four days across the country, the report noted.

Bank workers strike to impact services: Check dates

This is because 11 September is Friday, followed by 12 September (second Saturday), 13 September (Sunday) — both bank holidays across India — and 14 September, which is also a holiday in some states for Ganesh Chaturthi.

Further, if demands are not met after the first agitation, the UFBU has threatened a three-day nationwide strike from 28 September (28-30 Sept), to coincide with the half-yearly closure.

Later, it has also announced that an indefinite strike will be launched from 26 October onwards if their demands continue to be ignored by the government and bank management.

Bank workers union demands: Check full list here

The decision was taken at a meeting held on Sunday (23 August), as a measure against what the unions described as the government’s “negative attitude” towards their key demands, the UFBU said in a statement.

• Five-day banking: The statement added that the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) had agreed to the five-day work proposal as part of its 12th Bipartite Settlement / 9th Joint Note signed on 8 March 2024. As per the agreement, working hours would be increased by 40 minutes from Monday to Friday to make up for the Saturday offs.

The proposal was subsequently recommended to the government but has remained pending for more than two years, it added.

• PLI scheme: The unions have also objected to the government’s PLI scheme for bank officers in Scale IV and above. It said that the government’s scheme differs from the understanding reached with the IBA that PLI would be linked to 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, it said.

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.

• Violation of the status quo obligation: 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.

• Other key demands: The other key demands that are pending include — 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).