The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has called for a series of nationwide strikes over demands including the delay in implentation of five-day banking, differences regarding the performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, and issues related to dearness allowance, the National Pension Scheme and more. If the planned strikes take place, the services would remain disrupted on September 11, followed by a three-day strike from September 28 to September 30.
UFBU is an organisation representing nine bank employees’ and officers’ unions.
In case the strikes are not called off, banking services would be affected for several days. The September 11 strike would culminate in a three-day disruption since September 12 and 13 are weekends and some states would observe a holiday on September 14 on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. Similarly, the weekend falls on September 26 and 27, which would be followed by a three-day strike.
UFBU declares that if the government and bank management fail to meet the demands, they would go on an indefinite strike from October 26. The decision was taken as a measure against what the unions describe as the “negative attitude” of banks towards them at a meeting held on August 23 (Sunday).
In a statement, UFBU said that the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) had agreed to the five-day banking proposal under the 12th Bipartite Settlement/9th Joint Note signed on March 8, 2024. The proposal also discusses the working hours to be increased by 40 minutes from Monday to Friday. The arrangement has been pending for two years after it was recommended to the government.
The union also demanded that the provisions under the performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme be linked to the overall performance of the bank and be uniform for employees and officers up to Scale VII. Currently, under the government’s scheme, officers in Scale IV and above could receive incentives 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 union has also claimed violation of the status quo obligation during conciliation proceedings as the Department of Financial Services (DFS) advised banks to implement the PLI scheme, which is now in practice at banks.
The issue is currently under conciliation before the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) and is also pending before the Delhi High Court following the strike call.
Other demands that remain pending include updation of pension, a uniform dearness allowance formula for all pensioners, and a choice between the National Pension System (NPS) and the old pension scheme (OPS).
