Bank unions have announced a strike on September 11, followed by a three-day strike from September 28-30 over the five-day week and PLI scheme.

Bank Unions Strike: Banking services could be affected in September as the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has announced a series of strikes over unresolved issues concerning the five-day banking week and the revised Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

The UFBU has called a one-day bank strike on September 11, 2026, followed by a three-day strike from September 28 to September 30. The unions have also warned that if their demands are not resolved, they could go on an indefinite strike from October 26, 2026.

The forum says it represents more than 90% of the banking workforce and includes seven major unions covering employees across different categories of banks.

Why are bank unions planning strikes?

The latest bank unions strike announcement comes after several rounds of discussions over issues that the unions say remain unresolved. The UFBU has highlighted four major demands:

Implementation of a five-day banking week
Withdrawal of the revised Performance Linked Incentive scheme
Modification of the incentive structure through bilateral negotiations
Settlement of other pending residual issues

According to the unions, the government and bank managements have not addressed these concerns to their satisfaction, prompting the latest phase of agitation.

Five-day banking week remains a major demand

The introduction of a five-day banking week has been a long-standing demand of bank employees. According to the UFBU, banks agreed in principle to move towards this system in 2015, when the second and fourth Saturdays were declared holidays.

The issue was discussed again in 2020 and was subsequently incorporated into the wage settlement signed on March 8, 2024.

Under the agreement, employees would work an additional 40 minutes each day from Monday to Friday. In return, all Saturdays would be declared holidays.

The unions say their recommendation has been pending with the Finance Ministry for more than two years and are seeking its implementation.

Unions say customer service will not be affected

The UFBU has argued that a five-day working week would not necessarily reduce customer service hours. Employees have agreed to extend their daily working hours from Monday to Friday under the proposed arrangement.

The unions also pointed out that five-day working weeks are already followed by several institutions, including the Reserve Bank of India, LIC, GIC and NABARD, as well as various government and private-sector organisations.

The demand is therefore one of the central issues behind the planned bank unions strike in September.

Revised PLI scheme sparks another dispute

The Performance Linked Incentive scheme is another major point of disagreement between the unions and the government.

The unions said the PLI system introduced through a 2020 settlement applied uniformly to bank employees, ranging from housekeeping staff to General Managers. Under that arrangement, incentives could range from one day’s wages to a maximum of 15 days’ wages, depending on the bank’s performance.

However, the Department of Financial Services directed banks in November 2024 to adopt a revised formula based on individual performance for Scale IV to VII officers.

According to the UFBU, the revised system covers around 40,000 officers, representing approximately 5% of the banking industry’s workforce.

Unions object to disparity in incentives

The unions claim that under the revised formula, senior officers could receive incentives equivalent to as much as 365 days’ wages. This compares with the previous maximum of 15 days’ wages for the remaining employees under the uniform arrangement cited by the unions.

The UFBU has described the new structure as discriminatory and argued that it creates a significant difference between senior officers and the rest of the workforce.

The unions also oppose the proposed classification of officers as performers and non-performers, saying such categorisation could undermine the system of collective bargaining.

Dispute has continued since 2025

The disagreement over the PLI formula had already led to a proposed strike in March 2025. The action was deferred after the Chief Labour Commissioner asked the Indian Banks’ Association and unions to negotiate possible modifications.

The unions said they subsequently submitted proposals for changes. However, according to their statement, banks were directed by the government in March 2026 to implement the revised formula.

The matter was later taken to the Delhi High Court and remains pending, according to the union release.

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Fresh escalation after August 21 direction

The latest development came after the Department of Financial Services again directed banks on August 21, 2026 to proceed with implementation of the revised incentive formula.

The UFBU has alleged that this direction conflicts with the status quo requirement under the Industrial Disputes Act while the dispute remains before the Chief Labour Commissioner.

The unions have therefore announced the September actions as part of their continuing protest.

Three phases of agitation announced

The bank unions strike programme will begin with a one-day nationwide strike on September 11. This will be followed by a three-day strike from September 28 to September 30.

If the outstanding issues are still not resolved, the UFBU has announced that an indefinite strike could begin on October 26, 2026.

The unions have said the latest agitation was not their preferred course of action and accused the government and bank managements of forcing them into the protest.

Which bank unions are part of UFBU?

The United Forum of Bank Unions consists of seven organisations:

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 Officers’ Congress (INBOC)
Indian National Bank Employees’ Federation (INBEF)

The forum says these unions represent employees working across public sector, private, foreign, regional rural and cooperative banks.

Bank strike dates at a glance

Date                                           Proposed action
September 11, 2026                One-day strike
September 28-30, 2026          Three-day strike
October 26, 2026 Indefinite strike, if issues remain unresolved

The proposed bank unions strike could affect banking operations during the announced dates, although the extent of disruption will depend on participation and developments in negotiations. The unions are pressing for the five-day banking week, changes to the revised PLI scheme and resolution of other pending issues.