The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and unions have reached an agreement on a substantial 17% wage hike for nearly nine lakh employees across public sector banks, encompassing 3.8 lakh officers. This move is anticipated to allocate Rs 12,449 crore and will span a five-year period starting November 2022, ensuring arrears for the past 12 months.

This comprehensive wage revision, effective for all public sector banks including SBI, extends to certain older private banks as well, aligning their salaries with the revised structure.

In addition to the wage hike, the IBA has urged the government to declare all Saturdays as bank holidays under the Negotiable Instruments Act, a request that has been pending with the Centre for some time.

The new pay scales will be established by merging the dearness allowance corresponding to 8,088 points (average index for the quarter of July to September 2021) into the basic pay as of October 31, 2022, with an additional 3% loading, totaling Rs 1,795 crore.

Further details regarding the distribution of the annual wage increase between workers and officers, along with a one-time ex-gratia amount for pensioners, are yet to be finalized for the retirees within this settlement period.

A comprehensive bipartite settlement/joint note on the wage revision will be concluded within 180 days. This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), marking the 12th such settlement since 1966, signifies the collective efforts of bank associations, unions, and officers’ associations in adapting to the industry’s challenges while aiming for enhanced productivity, efficiency, and customer-oriented services.

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