Bank unions on Sunday (September 28, 2026) deferred the proposed three-day nationwide strike after a meeting with bank managements.

“All banks will function normally now. There will be no strike. We had three main demands. Discussion was held on all of them in a meeting held at 9.30 pm today (Sunday). One of them was for a five-day working week. Decision has been taken to immediately form a high-level committee of IBA and UFBU to deliberate on the issue and to see how it can be implemented,” C. H. Venkatachalam, general secretary of All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) told The Hindu.

Seven representatives of the bank unions and six banking executives were present for the online meeting that lasted about an hour.

United Forum of Bank Unions (UBFU) issued a circular late on Sunday night announcing that an understanding had been reached with Indian Banks’ Association.

“As regards the PLI Scheme for Scale IV and above officers, the discussions can start with IBA to propose modifications to the Government in the scheme to address the observations of the Unions/ Associations. The residual issues as listed in the minutes dated 8.3.2024 will be discussed between the parties for expeditious resolution,” the UBFU circular said.

Devidas Tuljapurkar, chairperson of All India Bank of Maharashtra Employees’ Federation, expressed satisfaction over the meeting’s outcome. “The demand for a five-day week has been long pending. By accepting to form a committee, a positive step has been taken to find out how it can be implemented in consultation with all stakeholders, particularly the customers, so that they are not inconvenienced,” he told The Hindu.

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UBFU) called off the proposed three-day strike nationwide strike, beginning Sunday (September 27, 2026), after it said an agreement was reached with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) on its demands, including a five-day work week.

With the postponement of the strike, banks would function on Monday (September 28, 2026).

Both parties agreed to form a high-level committee to deliberate on the issue of declaring the remaining Saturdays as holidays. According to a circular, the IBA and UFBU had a meeting at 9:30 p.m. in which the decision was made.

“This committee will explore, all possible alternatives; discuss with all stakeholders, and work out a solution acceptable to all stakeholders and, more importantly, the customers,” the UFBU said.

As regards the PLI scheme for Scale IV and above officers, the discussions can start with the IBA to propose modifications in the scheme to the government to address the observations of the unions/associations, it said.

The residual issues as listed in the minutes dated March 8, 2024, will be discussed between the parties for expeditious resolution, it said.

In view of the above, it was agreed by the UFBU that the proposed agitational programmes and strike actions will be deferred, it added.

With PTI inputs

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) will begin a nationwide strike on September 11 over the delay in implementing a five-day banking week, differences over performance-linked incentive schemes, and several other 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 nine bank employees’ and officers’ unions, has also threatened a subsequent three-day nationwide strike beginning September 28, coinciding with half-yearly closure.

They have also decided to go on an indefinite strike from October 26 onwards if their demands fall on deaf ears.

The decision was taken at a meeting held on Sunday with the UBFU stating that the government had a “negative attitude” towards key demands.

Pending for two years

On five-day banking, it said the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) agreed to the proposal as part of the 12th Bipartite Settlement/9th Joint Note signed on March 8, 2024, under which working hours were to 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, it said.

The unions have also objected to the government’s PLI scheme for bank officers of Scale IV and above, saying it differs from the understanding reached with the IBA that performance-linked incentives 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’ 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, it said.

The issue of PLI is currently under conciliation before the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) following the strike call issued by the UFBU and is also pending before the Delhi High Court, it claimed.

The UFBU further alleged that despite the pendency of conciliation proceedings and its offer to hold bilateral discussions with the IBA, the Department of Financial Services (DFS) has advised banks to implement the government’s performance-linked incentive scheme.

Crediting of performance-linked incentive under the DFS scheme has now actually commenced in the banks, the UFBU said, alleging that this was in violation of the status quo obligation during conciliation proceedings.

The UFBU argued that the present PLI scheme suggested by the DFS would disproportionately benefit a small section of officers and undermine the principle of uniformity in incentives across cadres.

The residual demands, including updating and improving pensions, 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.