UNITED FORUM OF BANK UNIONS
(AIBEA-AIBOC-NCBE-AIBOA-BEFI-INBEF-INBOC-NOBW-NOBO)
Date : 5-3-2025
FORM – L
NOTICE OF STRIKE
NAME OF UNIONS :
1. ALL INDIA BANK EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION – AIBEA
2. ALL INDIA BANK OFFICERS CONFEDERATION – AIBOC
3. NATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF BANK EMPLOYEES - NCBE
4. ALL INDIA BANK OFFICERS ASSOCIATION – AIBOA
5. BANK EMPLOYEES FEDERATION OF IDNIA – BEFI
6. INDIAN NATIONAL BANK EMPLOYEES FEDERATION – INBEF
7. INDIAN NATIONAL BANK OFFICERS CONGRESS – INBOC
8. NATIONAL ORGANISATION OF BANK WORKERS – NOBW
9. NATIONAL ORGANISATION OF BANK OFFICERS – NOBO
NAMES OF ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES
1. C.H. VENKATACHALAM
2. RUPAM ROY
3. L. CHANDRASEKHAR
4. SANJAY KUMAR KHAN
5. DEBASISH BASU CHAUDHURY
6. O.P. SHARMA
7. PREM KUMAR MAKKER
8. MANMOHAN DAS
9. K N AADARSH
Dated the 5th March, 2025
The Chairman, Chief Labour Commissioner ( C ),
Indian Banks’ Association, Ministry of Labour,
World Trade Centre Complex, Office of the CLC,
6th Floor, Centre 1 Building, Shram Sakthi Bhavan
Cuffe Parade, Mumbai. 400 005 New Delhi
Dear Sir,
In accordance with the provisions contained in sub-section (1) of Section
22 of the Industrial Dispute Act 1947, we hereby give you notice that the
members of the 9 constituent unions of United Forum of Bank Unions
propose to go on 48 hours CONTINUOUS STRIKE from the midnight of 23rd
March, 2025 to the midnight of 25th March on the following issue:
DEMANDING
1. Adequate recruitment in all cadres, regularise all temporary
employees
2. Implementation of 5 Day work week in Banking Industry
3. Immediate withdrawal of the recent DFS directives on
performance review and PLI, which threaten job security,
create division and discrimination amongst employees and
officers, violate the 8th Joint Note, and undermine PSB’s
autonomy
4. Safety of Bank Officers/ Staff against the assault/ abuses by
unruly banking public.
5. Fill up the post of Workmen/ Officer Directors in PSBs.
6. Resolution of residual issues pending with IBA
7. Amend Gratuity Act to increase the ceiling to Rs 25 lacs on the
lines of Scheme for government employees along with
exemption from income tax
8. Do not recover income tax on staff welfare benefits given to
employees and officers on concessional terms. Managements
to bear the same.
9. Maintain a minimum of 51% of Equity Capital in IDBI Bank by
Government
OPPOSING:
10. Micromanagement of PSBs by DFS on policy matters affecting
service conditions of employees and officers and undermining
bilateralism.
11. Outsourcing permanent jobs in Banks
12. Unfair Labour Practices in Banking Industry.
The details of the programs are given hereunder:
Agitational programme
5-3-2025 Serving strike notice on IBA, DFS and CLC
7-3-2025 Evening time demonstration at centres
11-3-2025 Demonstration at all Corporate/ Head Office/ Zonal/
Regional offices by respective affiliates
17-3-2025 Press Conference at all State Headquarters
21-3-2025 Rally at evening time at all centres
22-3-2025 Social Media Campaign including X handle
24/25-3-2025 TWO DAYS STRIKE FOR CONTINUOUS 48 HOURS
The details of the issues and Statement of the case is annexed herein.
Yours sincerely,
AIBEA AIBOC NCBE
AIBOA BEFI INBOC
INBEF NOBW NOBO
Encl: Statement of the Case
Copy to:
1. Secretary, Dept. of Financial Services, MoF, Govt. of India
2. Chairman/MD/CEOs of All Banks
3. Chief Executive, IBA, Mumbai
Annexure
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
1. Need for adequate recruitments: The public sector banking system in
India forms the backbone of the country’s financial infrastructure, ensuring the
effective implementation of government schemes, financial outreach programs,
and inclusive economic growth. However, over the years, the workforce in
public sector banks (PSBs) has dwindled significantly, creating an unsustainable
work environment and compromising the efficiency and reach of these
institutions. Over the last decade, the employee count in public sector banks
has seen a steady decline due to retirements, voluntary exits, and inadequate
recruitment drives. Similar is the problem in the old private Banks, Regional
Rural Banks and Co-op. Banks. But in contrast, new private sector banks have
rapidly increased their workforce, leveraging aggressive recruitment strategies
to enhance their operational efficiency and customer service. . Since 2013,
employees in the clerical category of state-owned banks have gone down from
3,98,801 to 246,965 and the number of sub-staff went down from 1,53,628 to
94,348 for the same period. In contrast, employees in the private banks have
gone up from 225,805 in FY2014 to 796,809 in FY2024.
Despite having a larger market share and wider reach, public sector banks are
significantly understaffed compared to their private sector counterparts. Public sector
banks account for over 60% of the total market share, with a network of approximately
90,000 branches across the country. Private sector banks, with less than 40% market
share, operate fewer branches yet employ a greater number of personnel, highlighting
the disparity in workforce allocation.
In public sector banks, the average customer-to-employee ratio goes upto 2000:1, far
surpassing the average of 300:1 in the new private banks. This disparity burdens
public sector employees with excessive workloads, resulting in delays, errors, and
deteriorating customer service. Public sector bank employees report high levels of
stress and burnout due to overwork, inadequate staffing, and increasing
administrative responsibilities. Reports have surfaced of mental health crises among
employees, with incidents of suicides, depression, and toxic work environments
becoming alarmingly frequent.
Public sector banks handle a disproportionate share of government-directed financial
inclusion initiatives, such as, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Mudra Loan Scheme,
PM Kisan Samman Nidhi etc. PSBs execute over 80% of these programs, despite their
limited workforce, while private sector banks largely abstain, citing lower profitability
and higher operational costs. Due to inadequate staff, the ability of PSBs to reach
underserved populations is compromised, affecting the broader economic goals of the
government.
The lack of permanent subordinate staff has led branches to rely on temporary
housekeeping personnel for essential, sensitive tasks, such as handling documents
and managing restricted areas like currency chests. This dependency creates
significant security risks, as temporary staff may inadvertently access sensitive
information, increasing the potential for fraud and breaches. The high customer-to-
employee ratio intensifies pressure on officers’, leading to burnout and affecting both
their mental and physical health.
The continued neglect of the banks to address the requirement of adequate staff and
officers for effectively running the banking operations smoothly and effectively and for
preventing fraud and cyber crimes has given rise to the urgent need for recruitment
of regular employees in PSBs for which this strike notice is being served.
Regularise temporary employees: In the absence of adequate recruitments in
the Banks and virtual bank on recruitment of substaff and housekeeping staff, in
almost all the Branches, employees are engaged on temporary basis. These
temporary employees are working the branches for years together. But they are
permanently temporary. The very fact that Banks and Branches are employing these
temporary employees explains the shortage of staff in branches and the need for
recruitment of permanent employees. While doing so, these temporary employees
need to be regularized.
2. Implementation of 5 Days Working Per Week : Bipartite Settlement/ Joint
Note was signed by the Indian Banks’ Association with the Employees Unions and
Officers Organisations in the Banks on 8-3-2024 covering revision of wages and
improvements in other service conditions for the period from 1-11-2022 to 31-10-2027
and
In every round of negotiations, the unions/ associations unequivocally demanded that
IBA should ensure that 5-day work week would be implemented before the signing of
the final settlement and
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the unions/ associations and
the Indian Banks’ Association on 7-12-2023, where it was written that the
recommendation for declaring all Saturdays as holidays under the NI Act for Banking
Industry in line with earlier negotiations with unions/ associations had already been
sent to the Govt. The unions/ associations urged for implementation of the same
before signing of the final bipartite Agreement/ Joint Note.
It was agreed in the Settlement/Joint Note dated 8.3.2024 that in terms of
understanding dated 7th December, 2023, reached between IBA and Unions/
Associations for declaration of all Saturdays as holidays under Negotiable Instrument
Act for Banking Industry, IBA has accordingly recommended to the Government and
the due changes in the working hours will be effective after approval by the
Government of India and necessary clearances from Government/Reserve Bank of
India.
It is more than an year that the IBA has recommended to the Government and till
date the approval has not been received. Hence due to the inordinate delay in
implementation of the 5-days work-week, this strike notice is being served.
3. Violation of bilateral agreement : The Performance Linked Incentive (PLI)
scheme was introduced in the Banks under the last Settlement signed between IBA
and Unions/Associations in 2020. The Scheme covered all workmen employees and
all Officers from Scale I to Scale VII. This PLI Scheme has been introduced after
detailed discussions between the parties based on mandates provided by member
Banks’ Boards. During the year 2024, the PLI scheme has been modified improved
upon by further mutual discussions and minutised between the parties.
Whereas the DFS Notification No. eF No. 15/6/2024-BO.I dated 19.11.2024 violates
the accepted principle of equity and undermines this well-established framework,
violating the sanctity of collective bargaining and the bilateral settlements and
introduced a selective approach to incentivise only officers from Scale IV to VIII
(counting less than 5% of the total workforce), while excluding over 95% of
employees who primarily drive business at the field level. It risks fragmentation of
the workforce and impairing the collective growth and harmony, which is paramount
and essential for any organizational growth and sustainable success.
Besides the DFS directive which amounts to violate the collectively bargain PLI scheme
uniformly applicable to entire workforce from part time sweepers to General Managers
of the Banks with uniform rate of incentive for all, it also will result in huge inequity
and differentiation in the incentive by extend a highly disproportionate incentive model
for a small section of the workforce. Uniformity of the incentive will be the casualty.
If the scheme needs any review, UFBU is ready to re-negotiate the same but unilateral
and discriminatory change in the scheme is unfair and unacceptable.
4. Efficiency Review: DFS has sent a directive to all Banks on 26-9-2024 asking
them to review the efficiency of all employees and officers on reaching the age of
55/57/58 and submit the report of the review report to the Government every month.
This policy not only infringes upon the operational autonomy of banks but also
undermines the morale and job security of dedicated Bank employees and Officers
across the country. We stand firm against any initiative that jeopardizes the career
stability of bank staff. We are for efficiency workforce and there are adequate
safeguards and rules evolved through bilateral agreements to ensure the same.
Government directive is nothing but intimidation of the employees and officers.
The PSBs are already facing severe staff shortages, exacerbated by the lack of
recruitment in clerical and sub-staff cadres, this DFS directive threatens the very
sustainability of the industry. Adding further stress to an overstretched workforce, the
policy requires banks to undertake monthly reviews and submit reports detailing the
number of employees reviewed and retired prematurely, a step that will severely
detract the attention from core banking operations.
The directive also undermines established mechanisms, including the Bipartite
Settlements and Officers’ Service Regulations, which provide comprehensive
provisions to address performance-related concerns without resorting to arbitrary
dismissals, under the new mandate, officers face premature retirement with a three-
month notice period (or pay in lieu), while clerks and sub-staff receive only a two-
month notice. Such unilateral measures are both provocative and intimidating,
disregarding existing processes for handling employee performance fairly.
Such directive from the Department of Financial Services has undermined the sanctity
of the bilateral provisions of service conditions and tantamount to interference in the
internal autonomy of the Bank Boards and such arbitrary action of the Government is
one of the reasons for the strike notice.
5. Increasing assaults on Bank Managers/officers/other staff: Bank employees
are increasingly facing verbal and physical assaults while performing their duties, often
at the hands of unruly elements, sometimes even backed by political forces, and these
incidents not only compromise their safety but also disrupt essential banking services.
Reports of physical attacks on bankers have been on the rise, with staff frequently
threatened while on duty which is being further exacerbated by the reduced
workforce.
Despite the advisories from the Department of Financial Services, Government of
India, urging strong action against such behavior, these incidents persist nationwide.
In several cases, officers are coerced into avoiding recovery actions or sanctioning
loans without the required compliance from borrowers. Recent violent episodes in
Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Gujarat, Bihar and other states
have escalated, leaving bank Managers, officers and other staff feeling helpless and
demotivated, severely impacting their ability to fulfill their duties.
In the light of these grave concerns, an enactment of a stringent legal framework is
required and there should be dedicated Act safeguarding bankers from physical harm
and undue pressure related to their professional duties encompassing the coverage of
the provisions under Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) that protects Public Servants from
similar abuse and threats, as listed below:
• BNS Section 332 - Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty.
• BNS Section 121(2) - Assault While Performing Official Duty.
• BNS Section 132 - Assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from
discharging their duty.
• BNS Section 219 - Obstructing sale of property offered by authority of public
servant for sale.
• BNS Section 221 - Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions,
Interrupting Government Work by Insult or Misbehaviour
• BNS Section 224 - Threat of injury to public servant
Our demand for protective measures for bank staff against assaults and enactment
of legal provisions for our safety in Branches is another important cause for the
proposed strike action.
6. Fill up the posts of Workman/Officer Directors in PSBs: The
appointments of Workmen Employee/Officer Employee Directors to the Boards of
Banks remain pending for a decade, despite clear legal mandates, judicial
directives. The provisions of The State Bank of India Act, 1955, and the Banking
Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act of 1970/1980 mandate
the inclusion of one Workman Director and one Officer Director on the Boards of
SBI and all nationalized banks. This provision is further reinforced in the
Nationalized Banks (Management and Miscellaneous Provisions) Scheme, 1970.
The Department of Financial Services (DFS) has been repeatedly approached to
expedite the appointment process to ensure adherence to statutory and legal
provisions, promoting an inclusive governance structure across public sector banks.
Unfortunately, even then, the posts of Workman Employee/Officer Employee
Directors in all the 12 PSBs remain unfilled. This is yet another important demand
on which the proposed strike is envisaged.
7. Convert all employees/covered by NPS to OPS : Pension is not merely
a retirement benefit; it is essentially a social security measure designed to provide
financial stability and dignity in post-retirement years, whereas the NPS, being a
market-driven scheme, has shown inconsistent returns subject to market
fluctuations, leading to unpredictability and financial vulnerability for retirees.
Further it is also a contributory scheme. With inflation and living costs continuing
to rise unabated, a pension scheme unlinked to D.A. neutralization will severely
impact the quality of life for retired bank employees covered under NPS, who
deserve stability and security in their retirement.
These issues have been raised before the Government and IBA/Managements for
an umpteen number of times, and the failure of the IBA and the Government of
India to address the justified demand and restore the Defined Benefit Pension
Scheme for post-2010 bank employees/officers, has given rise to the proposed
industrial action for which this strike notice is being served.
8. Updation of Pension for existing pensioners: We have been demanding
periodical updating of pension along with wage revision settlement and it was
agreed that without prejudice to the Court cases in various litigations relating to
pension scheme including the demand for updating of pension, for pensioners up
to 31.10.2022 an ex-gratia shall be paid which would be due for review in April
2024. It was also agreed that there shall be annual review of the ex-gratia amount
as may be mutually agreed between IBA and the union/association. Now, there
is no discussion initiated by IBA either for review of ex-gratia amount or for
developing a framework of periodical pension updating as demanded without
prejudice to the Court cases. Hence it is very important issue in this strike notice.
9. Improvement in Gratuity under the Act and exemption from Income
Tax : Gratuity is a statutory retirement benefit provided to employees as a token
of appreciation for their service and loyalty to the organization. Over the years, the
Government of India has periodically revised the gratuity ceiling, the latest being
Rs. 20 lakhs under the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Act, 2018. However,
this ceiling remains lower compared to the benefits provided to government
employees under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, where gratuity is
capped at Rs. 25 lakhs, along with a full exemption from income tax.
Government employees enjoy a higher gratuity ceiling of Rs. 25 lakhs with no
income tax liability. The banking sector has consistently contributed to the nation’s
progress, implementing government schemes, expanding financial inclusion, and
delivering critical services even in challenging conditions. The sector’s employees
and officers deserve recognition through better retirement benefits. With the
increasing cost of living and inflation, the current ceiling of Rs. 20 lakhs does not
adequately compensate employees upon retirement. Raising the limit to Rs. 25
lakhs would provide greater financial security in post-retirement life.
Gratuity is a one-time benefit earned over decades of service. Subjecting it to
income tax is inequitable and diminishes the value of the benefit. Government
employees already enjoy tax exemption, and this principle should extend to all
employees, including bank officers and award staff. The absence of appropriate
amendments to the Gratuity Act has caused widespread dissatisfaction among
bank employees.
We have been demanding the appropriate amendments to the Payment of Gratuity
Act increasing the ceiling on Gratuity from Rs. 20 lakhs to Rs. 25 lakhs and exempt
the entire gratuity amount from income tax to ensure employees receive the full
benefit of their service. Hence it is an important issue in the present strike notice.
10. Need to exempt staff welfare oriented benefits from the purview of
perquisite and consequent Tax: Whereas, every profession offers specific
benefits tailored to its nature. Across sectors, such perks are legitimate, remain
untaxed, and form an integral part of employment packages. These benefits not
only attract India’s brightest minds but also help organizations hire the best talent.
In the financial sector, the liability of income tax on perquisites borne by the bank
is a motivating factor for employees, encouraging them to contribute more
effectively to the organization.
It is important to note that many employers provide in-house products or services
either free of cost or at subsidized rates to their employees like in railways, airlines,
telecom companies, schools, hospitals, etc, where the staff get certain concessional
benefits which are not treated as perks and hence not taxed. These are ways of
how employers extend such benefits to their workforce. Given that the banking
sector deals primarily with financial products, it is only reasonable that similar
privileges, such as concessional loans, are extended to us.
It is pertinent to highlight that the cost of delivery for staff loans is minimal since
these loans require no publicity or marketing and are fully secured through
mechanisms like a lien on superannuation benefits or insurance coverage.
Furthermore, these loans entail no recovery costs, as repayment is directly
deducted from employees’ salaries.
Among the limited benefits enjoyed by bank employees, concessional staff loans
play a critical role in ensuring financial stability, especially given the high-stress
conditions of their work environment. Taxing this singular benefit, while similar
perks in other sectors remain untaxed, is both arbitrary and unjust. These benefits
are not handouts but rather a part of the crop harvested by employees, provided
to them on concessional terms.
We, therefore, demand that such concessional staff loans and staff welfare related
benefits be exempted from the ambit of perquisite taxation.
11. Do not privatise IDBI Bank – Maintain minimum of 51% of capital
with Government: IDBI was made a specialised Bank to deal with long term
needs of the industries and has done yeoman services. Later, this hs been
converted as IDBI Bank as a regular commercial Bank. It has been assured on
the floor of the Parliament that at any point of time, the Government shall maintain
a minimum of 51% of the capital of the Bank with itself. Today Government and
LIC put together has the capital upto 95%. There are repeated reports that the
Governments wants to disinvest in this Bank and more than 51% of the shares
would be divested. This would obviously mean privatisation of IDB Bank and would
be against the assurances made on the floor of the Parliament by the then Finance
minister. Our demand to rescind this decision is an important part of this strike
notice.
12. Micromanagement of PSBs on IR related issues : We express our deep
concern and misgivings over the increasing intervention by the Department of
Financial Services (DFS) in the routine affairs of Public Sector Banks, leading to
excessive micromanagement.
During the Gyan Sangam held at Pune on 2nd and 3rd January 2015 the Hon’ble
Prime Minister of the country had said that “Banks would be run professionally,
and there would be no interference”. It was also decided that the Bank’s Board
should be given full autonomy on HR decisions such as on recruitment,
Consequence management and Compensation. This was extensively covered by
the Print and electronic media and the decision was welcomed across the board.
The department of financial services vide its office memorandum no
F.No.4/9/I/2014-IR (Pt.) dated 13th January 2015 has also emphasised on the
same and the brief extract of the communication says
“ The undersigned is directed to refer to the subject cited above and to say that
Gyan Sangam was recently held on 2-3 January, 2015 at Pune where the Hon’ble
Prime Minister interacted with the Chief Executives of Public Sector Banks and
Financial Institutions (PSBs/ Fis). During the discussion, it was conveyed from the
highest level in very clear terms that the Government will not interfere in the
working of the Banks/ FIs.”
The current directive, which prescribes how senior officers should perform and
prioritize their work to earn incentives, surely infringes upon the autonomy of
public sector banks. The directive to periodic performance review upon attaining
certain age disregards the governance structures of banks’ Boards and imposes
centralized control, which could stifle strategic decision-making aligned with
individual banks' unique challenges.
Such micro-management by the Government sets a negative precedence,
undermining the independence of functions of the boards of the public sector
banks. Particularly, when the directives or instructions from the DFS infringes
policies or schemes evolved by collective bargaining and bilateral agreements
concerning the employees and officers, it becomes an industrial dispute and hence
avoidable.
We have also come across instructions from DFS which amounts to declining the
trade unions available to employees and officers to join the trade union of their
choice and curbing the same would amount to unfair labour practice. For
example, the directive from DFS discouraging and barring senior management
employees (SMGS-IV and above) from being part of Associations with other officers
is a blatant infringement of Article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution of India, which
guarantees every citizen the fundamental right to form and participate in
associations or unions. Trade Unions Act, 1926 also enables the same right. Hence
this is also an important issue in the strike notice.
The DFS directive to alter the protection granted to office bearers of recognised
trade unions on promotion is a clear case of interference in the autonomy of unions
and associations. Such actions amount to unfair labour practices as defined under
the Industrial Disputes Act and the Industrial Relations Code. These protections
are not privileges but safeguards essential to ensure free and fair functioning of
trade unions, enabling them to represent the workforce effectively. The directives
issued by the DFS not only challenge the rights of employees but also aim to dilute
the collective bargaining of unions and associations. These actions are contrary to
the principles of industrial harmony and undermine the relationship between
management and employees.
13. Stop outsourcing regular jobs in Banks: In the absence of recruitment
and employment of permanent employees in the Banks, the management of the
Banks are attempting to outsource these regular jobs on contractual basis. There
are subsisting regular jobs and hence have to be filled up by recruitment of
permanent employees. Recruitment of employees is part of the service conditions
in the Banks under the Awards and Bipartite Settlements. Without reaching a
mutually acceptable norms and practices, outsourcing the regular and perennial
jobs in the Banks is violation of these provisions. Further, outsourcing the bank
jobs is also wrought with serious implications. Hence the current attempts to
outsource the regular jobs in the banks should be stopped and the vacancies
should be filled up through recruitment of staff. Hence this strike Notice.
