Bank Management is not serious about resolving issues, says Chief Labour Commissioner

Under the direction of the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, a conciliation meeting was conducted today (April 29, 2025) to settle ongoing conflicts between management and public sector bank unions. The purpose of the meeting was to ensure good labor relations and to address a number of important requests. All participants were greeted by the CLC, which also urged them to collaborate and seek a peaceful resolution.

Concern Over Lack of Commitment by Bank Managements

The CLC expressed disappointment that many bank managements are not taking the conciliation meetings seriously. Despite repeated advice, some banks are not sending senior officials who can make decisions. This attitude not only disrespects the authority of the CLC but also delays the process of finding a fair solution.

All banks have again been advised to depute senior officers who can actively participate and help reach settlements.

Conclusion and Next Meeting

The CLC urged all stakeholders to continue discussions at the bipartite level (between unions and management) and try to solve issues amicably. The next conciliation meeting is scheduled for June 17, 2025, at 11:30 AM.

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Bank Unions met with IBA on 23 April, Read what about 5 Day Banking & other residual points

On April 23, 2025, Bank Unions met with IBA to address a number of concerns, including the Revised PLI plan, 5-Day Banking, and other matters.

What discussions were held about 5 Day Banking?

The establishment of five-day banking was considered by the bank unions and IBA. According to several sources, the government opposes five-day banking, the bank unions told IBA. The unions will have to go on strike once more if this is the case. According to IBA, they are pursuing the issue with DFS.

The key question, however, is how long the IBA will talk to the government on five-day banking. The conversations have continued for more than a year. Also on April 23, 2025, no solid discussion was held regarding 5 Day Banking. Like all other meetings, this time also IBA tried to liaison with bank unions in order to defer strike. AIBEA has released minutes of meetings which are as follows:

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UFBU and IBA meeting postponed

The Conciliation meeting between UFBU and IBA that was scheduled to be held on 22 April has been postponed to 30 April.Bank Employees are protesting against non-fulfillment of demands such as 5 Day Banking and adequate recruitment of staff. 

Earlier, meeting was held on 18.03.2025 but any decision would not be arrived at. So next meeting was scheduled for 21.03.2025. In that meeting, the strike was deferred and UFBU said that a consensus had been arrived for most of the demands.

What UFBU said in last meeting on 21.03.2025?

Serious negotiations on our demands began the morning before today's adjourned conciliation meeting. There were representatives from the Department of Financial Services (DFS) and the Indian Banks' Association (IBA).

The Finance Minister (FM) and the DFS Secretary had a fruitful conversation regarding the desire for five-day banking, according to the Joint Secretary of DFS, who joined the meeting via video chat.

The IBA suggested more talks on important topics like hiring, Performance-Linked Incentive (PLI), and other difficulties. The implementation of five-day banking is one of the topics that the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) promised to personally monitor.

The adjourned meeting will take place again during the third week of April. It was agreed to delay the strike scheduled for the 24th and 25th by one or two months in light of these encouraging developments.

All units are hereby informed that the strike has been postponed, and a detailed circular will be issued soon.

Key Demands Raised by Bank Employees

• Adequate Recruitment: Address the shortage of staff across all cadres in banks.
• Five-Day Work Week: Implement a five-day work week for the banking industry.
• Withdrawal of DFS Directives: Demand the immediate withdrawal of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) directives on performance reviews and the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, which threaten job security, create divisions among employees, and undermine the autonomy of public sector banks (PSBs).
• Safety of Bank Staff: Ensure protection for bank officers and staff against customer assaults and abuses.
• Fill Vacant Posts: Expedite the appointment of workmen and officer directors in PSBs.
• Resolution of Pending Issues: Resolve residual issues with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
• Amend the Gratuity Act: Increase the gratuity ceiling to ₹25 lakhs, similar to government employees’ schemes, and provide income tax exemptions.

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New Chairman and Deputy Chairman elected in IBA

According to a release, CS Setty, the chairman of State Bank of India (SBI), has been chosen as the next chairman of the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) governing committee. Tools for managing finances 

 In addition, Madhav Nair from Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait B.S.C., MD A. Manimekhalai, and MD Swarup Kumar Saha from Punjab & Sind Bank have been named Deputy Chairmen of IBA. B. Ramesh Babu, MD of Karur Vysya Bank, has been chosen to serve as Honorary Secretary. 

 Atul Kumar Goel, a former MD of Punjab National Bank, was appointed CEO of IBA earlier this month, replacing Sunil Mehta. On important sectoral issues, the IBA, the trade association for public and private sector banks, helps bankers and the banking regulator consult.

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Latest Update on Bank Strike: Reconciliation Meeting Held Today

 
A reconciliation conference involving the IBA, bank associations, and bank management was held today. This conference was attended by the labor commissioner and the management of all public sector banks. On March 24 and 25, 2025, Bank employees announced a strike, prompting the demand for the reconciliation meeting. 

 Due to demands like 5-day banking not being met, the bank associations have declared a strike. The meeting was place today, but no agreement could be reached. Therefore, the next meeting is scheduled for March 21, 2025, at 11:30 a.m. 

 The CLC office was the location of the meeting. The bank management, DFS, and IBA were all present. Every topic was covered. Regarding the concerns, particularly recruitment, 5-day banking, and unilateral PLI, there was no improvement.

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Latest Bipartite Settlement News - IBA agreed to form three sub-committees and discussions start

 

Today's meeting with IBA under chairmanship of Sri Rajneesh Karnatak Ji, UFBU discussed Charter of Demands for 12th Bipartite Settlement. UFBU discussed all points which was submitted earlier to IBA. 

IBA and management listened all points positively.

 

They agreed to form three sub-committees to expedite settlement and try to finish it by Dec 23.

 

From IBA side Sri Gopal Murali Bhagat Ji, Sri Brajeshwar Sharma Ji and from Management side CGM HR of Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank, Bank of India, and GM HR of Bank of Maharashtra, UCO Bank were present. 

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Latest Bipartite Settlement News-Today's UFBU Meeting with IBA

Today bipartite talks for next wage revision settlement formally began between iba and ufbu. Iba has formed the main Negotiating committee as well as Sub committees to discuss our demands. Discussion on our demands will continue from the next round of talks.

Today we have signed the minutes for extending 100% DA for pre Nov 2002 pensioners and family pensioners . Detailed circular follows. 

More News will be update soon...

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Latest Bipartite Settlement News - Finmin asks IBA to finalise wage revision of bankers of PSU banks by December 1

The government has asked the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) to initiate the process of negotiations for the 12th Bi-partite settlement in a time-bound manner and to finalise it by December 1, 2023, said a senior official.

The wage revision for employees and officers of the public sector banks is due from November 1, 2022.

The early wage revision would help improve working conditions and incentivise the banking sector employees, the official said.

Further, the official said, the finance ministry has asked IBA to ensure that all future wage negotiations should be finalised before the beginning of the subsequent period so that the wage revision could be implemented from the due date itself.

As a part of the settlement, the IBA is expected to engage in dialogues with the employees' Unions/ Associations and work out to arrive at a mutually agreeable wage settlement.

The government has stressed the importance of fairness and equity in the revision, ensuring that the compensation structure remains competitive with other players in the banking industry, the official said.

"Wage settlement for banks has always been a tedious and time-consuming process with bank managements, represented by IBA, and employees' unions engaging in tough negotiations. Historically, delays of 2-3 years in wage settlement have led to a substantial accumulation of arrears, which are eventually disbursed in a lump-sum.

"This contrasts with the more sustainable approach of integrating the revised wages into the regular monthly salaries," said the official.

Highlighting that the banking sector is the backbone of the Indian economy, the official said it is incumbent upon the management of banks to ensure that employees are adequately compensated and it is necessary for the health and stability of the entire economy as well.

It also comes at a time when the financials of the Public Sector Banks are healthy with the net profits almost tripled to Rs 1.04 lakh crore in FY'23 as compared to Rs Rs 36,270 crore earned in FY'14.

At the same time, the Return on Assets (ROA) in PSBs rose from 0.51 per cent in FY'14 to 0.78 per cent, while Net Interest Margin (NIM) has also increased from 2.73 per cent to 3.23 per cent in FY'23.

Wage settlement talks normally benefit employees of public sector banks, old generation private banks and some foreign banks.

In the previous agreement, 12 state-owned banks, 10 old-generation private sector banks and seven foreign banks signed up. New-generation private banks like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank are not part of these settlement talks.

The last 11th Bipartite Wage Negotiations concluded after three years of negotiations in 2020 agreed for 15 per cent pay revision for PSBs employees.

Almost 3.79 lakh officers and close to 5 lakh bank employees of PSBs, old-generation private banks and foreign were covered under the wage hike due from November 1, 2017.

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