Bank unions announce strikes on Sept 11 over unresolved issues

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All India Bank Employees Association General Secretary C. H. Venkatachalam speaks during a press conference announcing the nationwide strike action over their pending demands at the Press Club of India, in New Delhi on September 1, 2026. | Photo Credit: ANI

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which claims to represent more than 90% of the banking workforce, has announced a series of strikes over unresolved issues related to the five-day banking week and the government's revised Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

The UFBU has called for a one-day strike on September 11, followed by a three-day strike from September 28 to 30. If its demands are not addressed, the unions have announced an indefinite strike from October 26, 2026. The forum comprises seven unions — AIBEA, AIBOC, NCBE, AIBOA, BEFI, INBOC and INBEF — and represents workers across public sector, private, foreign, regional rural and cooperative banks, according to the union release.

As per the official statement, the unions have raised four key demands: the implementation of a five-day banking week, the withdrawal of the government’s Performance Linked Incentive scheme, the modification of the incentive scheme through bilateral discussions, and the resolution of pending residual issues.

The demand for a five-day banking week has been pending for several years. According to the unions, banks agreed in principle to move towards a five-day week in 2015, when the second and fourth Saturdays were declared holidays. The issue was revisited in 2020 and later formalised through the wage settlement signed on March 8, 2024.

Under the arrangement, bank employees agreed to work an additional 40 minutes every day from Monday to Friday in return for all Saturdays being declared holidays. The unions said the agreement was recommended to the Finance Ministry more than two years ago but is still awaiting government approval. They also argued that institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, LIC, GIC, and NABARD, along with other government and private institutions, already follow five-day working weeks.

The unions said customer service hours would not be affected, as employees have agreed to longer working hours from Monday to Friday. The Performance Linked Incentive scheme is another major point of dispute. The unions said the PLI scheme was introduced through a 2020 settlement and applied uniformly to bank employees, from housekeeping staff to General Managers. Under that arrangement, incentives ranged from one to a maximum of 15 days' wages, depending on the bank's performance.

However, in November 2024, the Department of Financial Services directed banks to adopt a revised incentive formula based on individual performance for Scale IV to VII officers.