Banking unions will continue their planned nationwide strike on September 11 after talks with the government over key demands, including terms of service, failed to break a deadlock.
The United Forum of Banking Unions (UFBU) has said it will not delay the strike until a positive decision is made or a specific time frame is set for meeting the core demand for a five-day banking week.
The latest conciliation talks were held at the office of the Chief Labor Commissioner (Central) with representatives of UFBU, Indian Banks Association (IBA), Department of Financial Services (DFS) and labor authorities. A DFS spokesman called on banking unions to reconsider calling for a strike ahead of the BRICS leaders’ summit to be held from September 11-13 in New Delhi. The unions, however, argued that they could not postpone the strike in the absence of a positive decision or a specific time frame for the introduction of a five-day working week.
“Two rounds of online meetings were held today. There was no concrete outcome on the five-day work week. The strike continues,” said Rupam Roy, general secretary of the All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC).
State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, informed stock exchanges that it had received a strike notice on September 11 from the UFBU. SBI said it has made arrangements to ensure smooth functioning of its branches and offices on the day of the strike, while warning that banking operations may nonetheless be affected.
Queries sent to the Ministry of Finance, Chief Labor Commissioner, Ministry of Labor and Employment, IBA, DFS, Joint Secretary Banking remained unanswered till the time of publication.
The 9/11 action is the first in a broader program announced by UFBU. The unions also called a three-day nationwide strike from September 28-30 and declared an indefinite strike from October 26 if their demands remain unresolved.
Earlier, on September 7, the government delayed the implementation of the performance-based incentive (PLI) scheme for senior officials of public sector banks for the financial year 2025-26 due to concerns raised by bank employees. The Ministry of Finance said the issue will be taken up during the ongoing bilateral settlement/joint note negotiations to determine future revision of wages and service conditions for employees and officials of the state-owned bank, among others.
However, this move failed to persuade the bank unions to call off the strike. The unions’ demands include a five-day banking week, withdrawal or modification of the revised PLI scheme through bilateral discussions and resolution of other outstanding issues. A five-day banking week remains their main requirement. Banking unions have also strongly opposed the PLI system, calling it discriminatory and arguing that it favors senior managers at level IV and above.
The demand for a five-day week has been pending for several years. Under the 12th Bilateral Agreement and the 9th Joint Note signed in March 2024, the proposal included a five-day week with increased daily working hours from Monday to Friday to compensate for the additional weekly holiday. This proposal was subsequently recommended to the government, but has not yet been implemented.
Unions argue that a five-day week will not lead to a significant reduction in the opening hours of customer-facing banks, as working hours on weekdays will be increased. They also pointed to the five-day work schedule that several other financial institutions follow.
The UFBU has seven major unions of bank officers and employees – All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Employees’ Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA), Bank Employees’ Federation of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Employees’ Federation (INBEF) and Indian National Bank Employees’ Congress (INBOC).