The United Discussion board of Financial institution Unions (UFBU) has introduced a contemporary spherical of business motion—together with an all-India strike on 11 September, a three-day strike 28-30 September and an indefinite strike from 26 October—over the delay in implementation of a five-day working week, opposition to the federal government’s revised performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for senior financial institution officers and several other unresolved pension and service-related points, its press assertion mentioned on Monday.
This comes over two years after the trade’s final wage settlement between the Indian Banks’ Affiliation (IBA) and the financial institution unions. The twelfth Bipartite Settlement for workmen and the ninth Joint Observe for officers had been signed on 8 March 2024 and are efficient from November 2022 for 5 years. The settlement supplied for a 17% improve within the wage and allowances invoice, with the whole annual outgo for public sector banks estimated at about ₹12,449 crore. The settlement coated about eight lakh financial institution workers and officers.
A key difficulty pending authorities approval is the introduction of a five-day working week. The IBA and unions had reached an understanding on 7 December 2023 to suggest that each one Saturdays be declared holidays for the banking trade. The 8 March 2024 settlement subsequently recorded that the IBA had advisable the proposal to the federal government and that the revised working hours would turn out to be efficient after the federal government’s approval and the mandatory clearances.
Beneath the proposed association, banks would stay closed on all Saturdays, whereas working hours on the remaining 5 days can be elevated by about 40 minutes a day. The proposal goals to keep up the general working hours of financial institution workers. At present, solely the second and fourth Saturdays are holidays for banks. The federal government’s nod and the required regulatory clearances are nonetheless awaited.
The opposite main flashpoint is the PLI scheme. Beneath the framework negotiated as a part of the eleventh Bipartite Settlement/eighth Joint Observe in 2020, the inducement was linked to the general efficiency of the financial institution and was out there uniformly to workers and officers as much as Scale VII, with a most of 15 days’ fundamental pay plus dearness allowance. UFBU maintains that this association was a part of the bilateral wage settlement and repair situations negotiated with the IBA.
The Division of Monetary Providers (DFS), nevertheless, launched a revised PLI framework in November 2024 masking whole-time administrators and senior executives from Scale IV to Scale VIII in public sector banks. In accordance with the federal government’s personal description, the revised framework assesses efficiency by parameters together with effectivity, enterprise, asset high quality and monetary inclusion, and combines the financial institution’s total efficiency with particular person efficiency. The utmost PLI ceiling is linked to annual fundamental pay, with the ceiling for scale IV at 70%, scale V and VI at 80%, and scale VII and VIII at 90%; for managing administrators and govt administrators, the ceiling can go as much as 100% of annual fundamental pay.
UFBU has opposed the revised PLI framework, saying it was launched with out bilateral negotiations and replaces the sooner uniform, bank-linked incentive for senior officers with particular person performance-based payouts. The federal government says the modifications are supposed to reward senior executives and enhance productiveness and competitiveness in public sector banks.
The dispute has since moved into the industrial-relations and authorized course of.
In accordance with the All India Financial institution Staff Affiliation (AIBEA), the matter has been beneath conciliation earlier than the Chief Labour Commissioner, with the unions arguing that banks ought to preserve establishment whereas the conciliation proceedings are pending. The unions have additionally challenged the implementation of the DFS framework in Delhi Excessive Court docket. In August 2026, the IBA and UFBU held one other assembly on the difficulty, with the union reiterating it was keen to debate modifications to the present framework and discover an amicable answer.
The third part of the present agitation pertains to residual points left over from the twelfth Bipartite Settlement and ninth Joint Observe. When the 2024 settlement was concluded, IBA and the unions agreed that numerous calls for that would not be resolved throughout the principle negotiations can be mentioned additional with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable and amicable settlement inside six months. The listing included pension updates, enhancements within the pension scheme, modifications regarding medical insurance coverage, a uniform dearness allowance formulation for pensioners and different service-related issues.
Certainly one of most vital points right here is pension replace for previous retirees. The unions have sought provisions within the pension laws for periodic updates of pension alongside future wage settlements. They’ve additionally sought enhancements within the pension scheme and a uniform DA formulation for pensioners linked to the 8088-point index. These points have remained a part of the broader residual-issues discussions following the 2024 settlement.
The unions have additionally been searching for an choice for workers coated by the Nationwide Pension System to modify to the Outdated Pension Scheme. This difficulty has been raised individually by financial institution officers’ organizations and stays a part of the broader calls for regarding retirement advantages and repair situations. The unions have additionally raised points regarding medical insurance coverage and different worker advantages.
The importance of the present dispute lies in the truth that the unions view the five-day banking and PLI questions not as contemporary calls for however as points arising from current agreements or established bilateral preparations. The five-day week was recorded within the 2024 settlement topic to authorities approval, whereas the unions contend that the sooner PLI framework was a part of the negotiated service situations. The residual pension and welfare calls for, in the meantime, had been particularly recognized for additional bilateral discussions after the March 2024 settlement.
The wage settlement itself adopted a memorandum of understanding signed between IBA and the unions on 7 December 2023. The events had sought to conclude the ultimate bipartite settlement inside 180 days. The ultimate twelfth Bipartite Settlement and ninth Joint Observe had been in the end signed on 8 March 2024. The settlement was efficient from 1 November 2022 and represented the trade’s newest five-year wage settlement.
The confrontation now marks an escalation of disputes which have endured past the 2024 wage settlement. UFBU is searching for implementation of the five-day banking dedication, withdrawal or modification of the revised PLI framework by bilateral negotiations and determination of the residual pension and service-related points. The unions have now linked these calls for to a phased agitation culminating in an indefinite strike from 26 October if the problems stay unresolved.
Queries on the difficulty emailed to the finance ministry and the IBA on Monday morning remained unanswered till press time.
UFBU is an umbrella physique representing seven financial institution unions: All India Financial institution Staff’ Affiliation, All India Financial institution Officers’ Confederation, Nationwide Confederation of Financial institution Staff, All India Financial institution Officers’ Affiliation, Financial institution Staff Federation of India, Indian Nationwide Financial institution Staff’ Federation and the Indian Nationwide Financial institution Officers’ Congress.
