NEW DELHI : India’s bank unions have called a nationwide strike on September 11 over delays in implementing a five-day banking week, a dispute over performance-linked incentives and unresolved pension-related demands, raising the prospect of widespread disruption to banking services.

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which represents nine bank employees’ and officers’ unions, said it had also threatened a three-day nationwide strike from September 28 and an indefinite walkout from October 26 if its demands were not addressed.

The September 11 strike could particularly affect public sector banks. With the strike falling on a Friday and followed by two bank holidays, services could be disrupted for several consecutive days. September 14 is also a bank holiday in some states for Ganesh Chaturthi.

The UFBU said the decision was taken at a meeting on Sunday after what it described as the government’s “negative attitude” towards its demands.

At the centre of the dispute is a proposal for a five-day banking week. The unions said the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) had agreed to the change under the 12th Bipartite Settlement and 9th Joint Note signed on March 8, 2024.

Under that agreement, working hours would be extended by 40 minutes from Monday to Friday. The proposal was subsequently recommended to the government but has remained pending for more than two years, according to the UFBU.

The unions are also opposing the government’s performance-linked incentive scheme for officers in Scale IV and above, saying it differs from the arrangement agreed with the IBA.

The UFBU said the understanding with the IBA was that incentives would be linked to the overall performance of individual banks and applied uniformly to employees and officers up to Scale VII.

Under the government scheme cited by the unions, officers in Scale IV and above could receive incentives of up to 365 days of basic pay based on individual performance. Workmen employees and officers up to Scale III, by comparison, would receive a maximum of 15 days’ basic pay plus dearness allowance.

The dispute over the incentive scheme is under conciliation before the Chief Labour Commissioner and is also pending before the Delhi High Court, the UFBU said.

The unions alleged that the Department of Financial Services had advised banks to implement the government’s incentive scheme despite the ongoing conciliation process and the UFBU’s offer to hold bilateral talks with the IBA.

According to the UFBU, some banks have begun crediting incentive payments under the government-backed scheme, a move the unions said violated the requirement to maintain the status quo while conciliation proceedings are underway.

The threatened industrial action adds pressure on the government and bank management to resolve the disputes before September, with the UFBU warning that the September 11 strike could be followed by progressively longer nationwide action.