Bank employees clinch 17% annual pay hike; push for 5-day week

A consortium of bank employee unions and the Indian Banks Association (IBA) have reached a consensus on wage revision that provides for an annual increase of 17 per cent in salaries for five years starting fiscal 2021-22.

The wage revision will be effective 1 November 2022 and employees will get arrears for the previous 12 months, according to a statement issued on Thursday.

While a consensus has been reached on the pay revision issue, employees are demanding a 5-day work week, ie, remaining closed on all Saturdays as well, instead of the present practice of granting holidays on the second and fourth Saturdays.

The IBA and employee unions and associations will meet again for a final settlement before final agreement will be signed. IBA is reported to have already recommended to the government to declare all Saturdays as holidays under the Negotiable Instruments Act.

The 17 per cent annual pay increase will involve addition expenditure of a combined Rs12,449 crore for public sector banks, including State Bank of India (SBI).

The new pay scales will be arrived at by merging dearness allowance (DA) corresponding to 8,088 points to the basic pay as of 21 October 2022 and adding a 3 per cent additional load there on.

The agreement also provides for a one-time payment of an ex-gratia amount along with monthly pension to those pensioners and family pensioners who were drawing pension as of 31 October 2022. It is not yet decides as to whether new retirees will be eligible for this.

The two sides have agreed to finalise the detailed settlement within 180 days. "The management and the unions/ associations representing the workmen, staff and officers mutually acknowledge the necessity for a robust banking system adaptive to the challenges facing the banking industry. There is a shared commitment to further improve productivity, efficiency, and responsiveness to the needs of customers and various stakeholders," the MoU said.