New Delhi [India], September 1 (ANI): The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which claims to represent more than 90 per cent 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, implementation of the five-day banking week, withdrawal of the government's Performance Linked Incentive scheme, modification of the incentive scheme through bilateral discussions, and 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 five-day working weeks are already followed by institutions including the Reserve Bank of India, LIC, GIC and NABARD, along with other government and private institutions.

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 performance of the bank.

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. The unions said this covers around 40,000 officers, or about 5 per cent of the industry's 8-lakh-strong workforce.

Under the revised formula, senior officers could receive incentives of up to 365 days' wages, compared with a maximum of 15 days for the remaining 95 per cent of employees, according to the unions.

UFBU had called a strike over the issue in March 2025, which was deferred after the Chief Labour Commissioner asked the Indian Banks' Association and unions to negotiate modifications.

The unions said that despite submitting proposed changes, the government directed banks in March 2026 to implement the formula. The matter was subsequently taken to the Delhi High Court and remains pending, according to the release.

The latest escalation came after the Department of Financial Services again directed banks on August 21, 2026 to proceed with implementation. The unions have alleged that this violates the status quo requirement under the Industrial Disputes Act while the dispute remains before the Chief Labour Commissioner.

UFBU has termed the revised scheme discriminatory, arguing that it is contrary to the uniform incentive arrangement agreed through bilateral negotiations.

The unions also said the revised system would create a significant disparity between senior officers and the rest of the workforce, with the incentive cost for the top 5 per cent of employees potentially exceeding the total incentive paid to the remaining 95 per cent.

The unions further objected to the proposed classification of officers into performer and non-performer categories, saying it would be unrelated to their actual performance and would undermine collective bargaining.

Union leaders, including C.H. Venkatachalam of AIBEA, Rupam Roy of AIBOC, L. Chandrasekhar of NCBE, Sanjay Khan of AIBOA, Debasish Basu Choudhary of BEFI, Prem Makker of INBOC and O.P. Sharma of INBEF, said the agitation had been 'forced on the Unions due to the actions of the Government and managements.' (ANI)