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
Public Sector Bank unions, represented by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), have called a series of all-India strikes from September 11 to press their demands, including one on the implementation of a five-day banking week.
They have also asked the government to withdraw the “unilateral and discriminatory Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme” and keep it’s implementation in abeyance. Asking for a modification of the scheme through bilateral discussions with Unions, they have asked the government to resolve all residual issues.
Failing which they have called a three-day strike from September 28 to 30. If its demands are not addressed even then, the unions have announced an indefinite strike from October 26, 2026.
“By now all our unions and members are aware that the Government is taking a negative attitude on our important demands and issues,” the UFBU said in a statement.
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.
The unions said the agreement was recommended to the Finance Ministry more than two years ago but is still awaiting government approval. It is more than 2 years now and yet the matter is kept pending with the Government, the release said.
The Performance Linked Incentive scheme is another major point of dispute. “On the issue of PLI also, it was clearly understood and agreed between the Unions and IBA that the PLI scheme would be based on the performance of the Bank as a whole and would be uniform number of days for all employees and officers upto Scale VII,” it stated.
“But in a unilateral manner, DFS/Finance Ministry has directed Banks to implement a different PLI scheme for Scale IV officers and above. Under this Scheme, the officers from Scale IV and above would be paid PLI upto 365 days of Basic Pay based on their individual performance while workmen employees and officers upto Scale III would be paid a maximum of 15 days Basic Pay+DA,” the statement added.
Published – September 01, 2026 05:00 pm IST
