Bank strikes in September: 4-day nationwide shutdown planned, indefinite strike threat from October 26

Banking services across India could face disruption in September as the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has announced a series of nationwide strikes over unresolved demands, including the implementation of a five-day banking week and changes to the government's revised Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

The UFBU, which claims to represent more than 90 per cent of India's banking workforce, has scheduled a one-day nationwide strike on September 11, followed by another strike from September 28 to 30. The unions have warned that failure to resolve the issues could lead to an indefinite strike from October 26, 2026, according to ANI.

The forum comprises seven unions, including AIBEA, AIBOC, NCBE, AIBOA, BEFI, INBOC and INBEF, representing employees across public sector, private, foreign, regional rural and cooperative banks.

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Five-Day Banking Week

The demand for a five-day banking week has been pending for years. According to the unions, the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) agreed to the proposal under the 12th Bipartite Settlement/9th Joint Note signed on March 8, 2024.

Under the proposed arrangement, bank employees would work an additional 40 minutes from Monday to Friday, allowing all Saturdays to become holidays. The UFBU said the proposal was subsequently recommended to the government but has remained pending for more than two years.

The unions have also pointed out that institutions, including the RBI, LIC, GIC, and NABARD already follow a five-day working system. They maintain that customer service hours would not be affected because of the additional weekday working time.

Dispute Over Revised PLI Formula

The second major issue is the government's revised PLI formula for senior bank officers. The unions said the earlier arrangement provided performance-linked incentives ranging from one to 15 days' wages, based on the overall performance of the bank.

However, a revised formula introduced for Scale IV to VII officers could provide incentives of up to 365 days' wages. The unions said this provision covers around 40,000 officers, or approximately 5 per cent of the industry's 8-lakh workforce, while the remaining 95 per cent would continue to have a maximum incentive of 15 days' wages.

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The dispute has continued despite negotiations. The unions said the government again directed banks to proceed with implementation on August 21, 2026, even as the matter remains before the Chief Labour Commissioner and the Delhi High Court.

The UFBU has also raised concerns over pension-related and other pending service issues. Union leaders said the latest agitation was “forced on the Unions due to the actions of the Government and managements.”