Bank Strike Alert: 1-Day Strike, 3-Day Shutdown And Indefinite Strike Threat; All You Need To Know

Services at banks across India are going to face some disruption as the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) is preparing for nationwide bank strikes on multiple days in order to get their demands fulfilled, including the implementation of a five-day banking week and changes to the PLI scheme.

Bank Strike Dates

The UFBU has announced a 1 day nationwide bank strike on September 11th after which a 3 day strike from September 28 to September 30 will be held. If the issues will still be unresolved, the unions have also threatened an indefinite bank strike from October 26th.

As per a recent update, the talks between the UFBU and the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) on September 4 couldn't reach an agreement on the unions' key demands. After the meeting, the UFBU said it was not in a position to defer the September 11 strike.

Why Are Bank Employees Going On Strike?

The biggest demand behind this bank strike is the long-pending implementation of a five-day working week for bank employees.

The unions have said that the proposal was agreed upon between the IBA and bank unions as part of the 12th Bipartite Settlement/9th Joint Note signed in March 2024. Under the proposal, working hours on Monday to Friday would be increased to compensate for the additional weekly holiday.

Despite the agreement, the proposal has still been pending for more than two years, according to the unions.

The unions said that other financial institutions like the RBI, LIC, GIC and NABARD, already follow a five-day working system.

PLI Scheme Dispute

The second major issue is the revised Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for bank employees and officers.

The UFBU is against the government's revised structure, saying that it creates a major disparity between senior officers and other employees. According to the union's account, officers in Scale IV and above could receive PLI of up to 365 days of basic pay plus DA, while workmen employees and officers up to Scale III would have a maximum of 15 days of basic pay plus DA.

Other Demands Of Bank Unions

The unions have also raised many other pending matters which include:

Pension-related issues
A common DA formula for pensioners
Other residual issues from previous settlements
Concerns over staff shortages and increasing workloads
Opposition to privatisation of public sector banks
Demand for resolution of long-pending employee issues

Which Banking Services Be Affected By September 11 Strike

If the September 11 strike goes ahead, branch operations could be affected across participating banks. However, customers may still be able to use internet banking, mobile banking, ATMs and other digital services.