By Dr. Gyan Pathak
Even after several rounds of talks, the latest being on September 22, the negotiating positions of the United Forum of Banks Union (UFBU) on the one hand and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and the Union Government on the other are essentially deadlocked. Union Ministry of Finance has even said that the government never agreed on the key demand of five-days working week, though the demand is linked to an earlier agreement reached between the IBA and bank unions on March 8, 2024.
UFBU maintains that under the agreement reached on March 8, 2024, Saturdays, other than the second and fourth Saturdays would become holidays, and employees would work around 40 minutes extra every day from Monday to Friday to compensate their working hours in a week. The agreement was sent to the government but no action has been taken for two years.
IBA and the Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the Union Ministry of Finance have indicated during the negotiation rounds to the UFBU representatives that the matter of five-days week is still under consideration and they sought more time.
After the crucial meeting on September 22, between the representatives of the both sided, UFBU had said that there was no positive response from IBA and DFS and the “strike stands”.
There have been only appeals rather than a new settlement process since them. The Finance Ministry, IBA and bank managements have asked UFBU to defer the strike. However, UFBU’s position is that it will consider postponement only if there is concrete and positive movement on five-day banking.
The PLI issue has effectively been removed from the immediate dispute. The Government put the Performance Linked Incentive scheme for PSB executives in abeyance, which it regards as having addressed one of the two principal union demands. The remaining major issue is five-day banking.
It is worth mentioning that Union minister of Finance met delegation of bank employees representing different Public Sector Banks (PSBs) led by the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) on September 7, and given the assurance to them on PLI. Though UFBU represents 90 per cent of the banking workforce in India, the Union government had preferred to talk with the representatives of BMS, a member of the RSS family which also includes the ruling BJP.
After that meeting government had stated that the concerns expressed by bank employees were taken cognizance of, and in response to the representation received on the PLI structure, it was decided to keep in abeyance the implementation of the PLI Scheme dated 19.11.2024 for FY 2025–26 and take up the same during the ongoing Bipartite Settlement/ Joint Note discussions. The statement also read, “The Government is committed to resolve issues through dialogue, consultation and mutual understanding in the larger interest of bank employees, customers and the banking sector.”
BMS represents bank employees and officers through its affiliates – the National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) and the National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO). They have very little presence in the banking sector, but government preferred to talk with them. It has simply irked UFBU and its affiliated organisations, that adversely impacted their talks with the government and IBA.
UFBU is an umbrella organization which represents India’s more than 90 per cent of banking workforce across public-sector, private, foreign, regional rural and cooperative banks. It is comprised of seven banks’ employees’ and officers’ unions – All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Officers’ Congress (INBOC) and Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF).
UFBU representatives say that their issues were kept unresolves for too long a time without any progress in resolving the issues and hence they can’t postpone their agitation. UFBU’s four key demands include introduction of five-day banking, scraping of the new PLI system, revision of the scheme through bilateral discussion, and resolution of pending/residual issues including pension-related matters.
In the meantime, the government has taken contingency measure rather than announcing a settlement or schedule for further talks. Finance Ministry has directed PSBs and RRBs to operate normally on Sunday, 27 September, with RBI approval for branches, offices, ATM-linked branches and currency chests. It is significant and it suggest that the government’s operational planning is proceeding on the assumption that the strike will happen, rather than a settlement could be reached.
UFBU wants a concrete implementation decision and timeline on implementation of five-day banking, while IBA and DFS has been asking for more time.
There is nevertheless a narrow possibility of last-minute informal/direct intervention, because the government and IBA continue to appeal for postponement of the three-day strike, while UFBU has been mobilising for the strike across the country and banks. UFBU was also on strike on September 11, 2026, and that will be followed by the forthcoming three-day strike between September 28-30, and an indefinite strike from October 26 if the disputes are not resolved.
UFBU has expressed strong resentment and protest over alleged attempts by bank managements and other authorities to intimidate bank employees and officers, particularly Scale IV and above, and probationary officers against participating in the strike. UFBU said it unfair and warned that it could be counterproductive. (IPA Service)
