Bank unions to go on nationwide strike on Sep 11

NEW DELHI, SEP 1 (PTI): The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has decided to go on a nationwide strike on September 11 over the delay in implementing five-day banking, differences over the performance-linked incentive scheme, and several pending demands, including pension-related issues.
If the strike materialises, banking services, especially in public sector banks, would be impacted for four days in many parts of the country.
September 11 is a Friday, and the subsequent two days are bank holidays.
September 14 is a holiday in some states for Ganesh Chaturthi.
UFBU, an umbrella body of seven bank employees’ and officers’ unions, has also threatened a three-day subsequent nationwide strike beginning September 28, coinciding with the half-yearly closure.
They have also decided to go on an indefinite strike from October 26 onwards if their demands fall on deaf ears of the government and bank management.
On five-day banking, the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) had agreed to the proposal as part of the 12th Bipartite Settlement/9th Joint Note signed on March 8, 2024, under which working hours would be increased by 40 minutes from Monday to Friday.
The proposal was subsequently recommended to the government, but has remained pending for more than two years, All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) general secretary Rupam Roy said while addressing media here.
The unions have also objected to the government’s PLI scheme for bank officers in Scale IV and above, saying it differs from the understanding reached with the IBA that performance-linked incentive would be linked to the overall performance of individual banks and would be uniform for employees and officers up to Scale VII.
Under the government’s scheme, officers in Scale IV and above could receive PLI 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 other residual demands, including updation and improvement of pension, a uniform dearness allowance formula for all pensioners and an option for employees covered under the National Pension System (NPS) to switch to the old pension scheme (OPS), also remained unresolved.