The UFBU, which represents major bank unions including the 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 Employees’ Federation (INBEF) and Indian National Bank Officers’ Congress (INBOC), has urged the government to implement the five-day banking week.

The UFBU, in a statement issued in late August, said, “We are aware that on the demand of the Bank Management, you had given suggestions of adjustments of extra timings to be distributed on the other days of the week. This proposal sent in 2024 is still pending for the decision to be taken by the Government.”

The September 11 strike is the first of a series of nationwide strikes, the UFBU stated in a letter posted on its X account. Bank unions have also called a three-day strike on September 28, 29 and 30, and have threatened an indefinite nationwide strike from October 26 if their demands remain unresolved.

Amid the planned strike, the Centre has reportedly kept performance-linked incentive payments for public sector bank executives in abeyance for FY25-26.

The Department of Financial Services (DFS), in a letter, said the payment of PLI to executives of public sector banks in Scale IV to VIII will remain in abeyance until further orders, reported Livemint. The issue will be taken up during the ongoing 13th Bipartite Settlement/10th Joint Note discussions, which cover future wage revisions and service conditions for public sector bank employees and officers, the report added.

The PLI framework has been a key point of contention between the bank unions and the government. The UFBU has opposed the revised scheme, saying it could impose a significant financial burden on banks. The unions want PLI to be linked to the overall performance of the bank, with the number of PLI days kept uniform for employees and officers up to Scale VII.