JAMMU, Sep 10: The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), a common platform of seven unions representing more than 90 per cent of the workforce in the banking sector, has announced a series of agitational programmes and strikes over the long-pending demand for a five-day working week in banks and other unresolved issues concerning employees and officers.
According to UFBU General Secretary Rupam Roy, the strike programmes will be held on September 11, September 28, 29 and 30, 2026, followed by a continuous and indefinite strike from October 26, 2026. The seven unions under the UFBU include AIBEA, AIBOC, NCBE, AIBOA, BEFI, INBOC and INBEF.
The principal demand of the unions is the implementation of a five-day working week in banks by declaring all Saturdays as holidays. The unions said that under the May 2015 agreement, the second and fourth Saturdays were declared holidays, while the remaining Saturdays continued as working days. The issue was discussed again in November 2020 and subsequently during the latest wage revision negotiations.
UFBU said that in the agreement signed in March 2024, the Indian Banks’ Association and bank managements agreed that the remaining Saturdays would also be declared holidays, while the unions agreed to an increase of 40 minutes in working hours from Monday to Friday. The proposal was subsequently recommended to the Finance Ministry for approval, but the unions said that the matter has remained pending for more than two and a half years.
The unions argued that five-day working is already followed in several government institutions and financial organisations, including the Central and State governments, RBI, LIC, GIC and NABARD. They maintained that declaring all Saturdays as holidays would not reduce customer-facing business hours because employees have agreed to compensate through longer working hours from Monday to Friday.
UFBU also raised several residual issues that it said remained unresolved after the settlement signed on March 8, 2024. These include adequate recruitment of clerical and subordinate staff in banks, conversion of NPS to OPS, exemption of income tax on the additional 4 per cent contribution to NPS by banks, enhancement of the gratuity ceiling, pension updation, uniform dearness allowance on pension, revision of ex-gratia for pre-November 2022 pensioners and payment of ex-gratia in private banks.
Other demands include filling vacant Workman and Officer Director posts in banks, introduction of a Leave Bank and payment of medical insurance premiums for retired employees by banks, according to the union.
The announcement followed conciliation meetings held on September 8 and 9 by the Chief Labour Commissioner and Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner, with officials from the Finance Ministry also participating. UFBU said that the meetings failed to produce an understanding because the government could not give a commitment on implementing the five-day banking system.
The union therefore said the agitation had been “forced” upon bank employees and officers because of the government’s and managements’ failure to resolve the issue. It warned that all bank branches will remain closed and banking services will not be available on the strike days.
The UFBU said bank employees and officers have continued to provide services despite difficult working conditions and recalled their contribution during the COVID-19 pandemic. It maintained that the five-day working week is necessary to improve work-life balance while maintaining banking services through adjusted working hours during weekdays.