Govt appeals to bank employees to avoid Sept 28-30 strike, flags closure risk

The government has appealed to employees of public sector banks and regional rural banks to refrain from strikes and ensure uninterrupted banking services, amid a fresh three-day strike call from September 28 over the demand for a five-day working week.

The Ministry of Finance, in a statement issued on Monday, said the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) and certain other unions and associations had raised the demands of implementation of a five-day banking week and withdrawal of the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

"Taking due note of the concerns raised, the Government, after detailed discussion, decided to keep the PLI scheme in abeyance," it said.

The government said it subsequently held several rounds of conciliation to address the remaining issue through dialogue.

Demanding a five-day workweek, bank employees held a nationwide one-day strike on September 11 and announced a three-day strike from September 28 to 30, followed by a proposed indefinite strike from October 26.

Currently, banks remain closed on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month and operate on the first, third and fifth Saturdays.

The proposed three-day strike coincides with the half-yearly closing of banks on September 30, which the government said is important for reconciliation, provisioning, and treasury and market operations.

"Disruption of this nature, combined with the preceding weekend, would result in an effective five-day closure of banking services at a particularly sensitive point in the financial calendar," the ministry said.

Such a disruption could cause inconvenience to customers, businesses, government transactions and international banking operations, it added.

The UFBU, an umbrella body of seven bank employee and officer unions, has said the agitation would continue until the demand for a five-day banking week is addressed.

The unions have said the five-day working week was agreed upon in the 12th Bipartite Settlement signed with the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) in March 2024, but is awaiting government notification.

Under the proposal, banks would operate from Monday to Friday, with daily working hours increased by 40 minutes.

"Since there was no positive outcome and the government did not agree to our demand, this strike is forced on us. Bank employees and officers are highly aggrieved that they alone are being discriminated against," AIBEA general secretary C H Venkatachalam had told PTI after the September 11 strike.

The government, meanwhile, listed several measures taken in recent years for the welfare of bank employees, including salary and allowance revisions, expansion of executive posts and increased recruitment.

According to the ministry, public sector banks recruited around 4.83 lakh employees between 2014-15 and 2025-26, with recruitment doubling over the last three years.

It said the Staff Welfare Fund was enhanced by 56% in August 2024 and cited measures including streamlined promotion and transfer processes, special leave provisions for women employees, revised family pension, improved medical insurance for retirees and higher conveyance allowance for employees with disabilities.

The government also said it had begun negotiations for the upcoming Bipartite Settlement ahead of the November 2027 deadline.

"The Government remains committed to the welfare and well-being of bank employees and to addressing their genuine concerns through constructive engagement," it said.

The UFBU comprises 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).

The unions have also announced an indefinite strike from October 26 if the five-day banking week demand remains unresolved.