Why are bank employees going on strike even after govt withdrew PLI scheme?

United Forum of Bank Unions had striked work in January this year too. Photo shows a deserted State Bank of India’s branch in Tirupati during the bank employees strike. | Photo Credit: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar The story so far: The Government recently announced that it was putting on hold the performance-linked incentive (PLI) system it had planned to implement for public sector bank employees. However, the employees are still going ahead with their strike on September 11, highlighting that not all of their grievances have been addressed.What are the main grievances of the bank employees?One of the main reasons the United Forum of Bank Unions, the umbrella body of seven bank employee unions, called for a nation-wide strike on September 11 was to protest the PLI scheme announced by the Department of Financial Services in November 2024 and applicable for the financial year 2025-26.This revised PLI scheme was applicable only to Scale IV officers and above, a major point of contention. This scheme allows these senior officers to receive PLI of up to 365 days of Basic Pay based on individual performance. This, according to the employee unions, was discriminatory in nature as it was a significant departure from the uniform 15 days Basic Pay plus Dearness Allowance formula applicable to the rest of the workforce.This revised PLI scheme was also a departure from the agreement between the unions and the Indian Banks’ Association in 2020 under which the PLI was to be linked to the overall performance of individual banks and would be uniform for employees and officers.The second demand by the bank employees was for a five-day workweek. The bank employees had in 2024 suggested increasing the work timings per day by 40 minutes so that there would not be a reduction in the total hours worked per week. This proposal has been pending with the government. What has the government done to address the strike call?A delegation of bank employees, led by the labour wing of the RSS, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and officials of the Department of Financial Services on September 8. Following the meeting, the Ministry of Finance announced that the PLI would be put on hold pending further discussion. It added that the bank employees also raised the issues of a review of ex-gratia, providing medical facilities for retired employees, among other concerns related to employees.Why did this not work?Following the meeting, UFBU took to social media to acknowledge that the meeting did indeed take place and confirmed the agreement with the government to put the PLI scheme on hold. However, it added that there was “no positive development” regarding its demand for a five-day work week. As a result, the strike call remains in effect. In fact, the bank unions have threatened another three-day nationwide strike from September 28-30, coinciding with the half-yearly closing period. It has also warned of a “continuous indefinite strike” from October 26 if its demands remain unaddressed.What would the immediate impact of the strike be?The bank unions have timed their strike carefully. Should the strike actually happen, it would disrupt branch banking services for four days across the country. The strike itself will fall on a Friday (September 11). This Saturday (September 12) is the second Saturday of the month and is, as such, a day off for banks. Sunday (September 13) is a weekly off. Monday (September 14) is Ganesh Chaturthi, which is a holiday in several States across the country.The rise of app-based and internet banking has meant that bank branches are seeing falling usage. However, branches are still the sole banking point of contact for senior citizens and customers in rural and semi-rural India. It is this category of people that are likely to be most impacted by the strikes. Published - September 10, 2026 11:34 am IST