As many as 8.5 lakh bank employees are set to benefit with the wage hike of 15 per cent. Basic pay has been merged with dearness allowance.  Bank’s contribution to NPS (New Pension Scheme) fund will increase to 14 per cent of this merged pay. The decision in this regard was finalised yesterday after intense negotiations by bank employees’ unions and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). The annual hike in wages will be effective from November 2017.  “Today IBA & UFBU have signed an MoU for 15% increase in pay slip component of Bank Employees, in Principal agreement to remove cap & offer 30% of Basic Pay as family Pension,” IBA Chief Executive Officer Sunil Mehta had tweeted yesterday.

Apart from the salary hike, PLI will be introduced for public sector bank staff. PLI will be applicable from the current financial year for public sector banks. However, it will be optional for the private sector and foreign banks. There will be no PLI if the operating profit earned by a bank is less than 5 per cent. However, if the operating profit is between 5-10 per cent, employees would get an additional five days salary. If the operating profit is above 15 per cent, employees will get an additional 15 days salary. However, this will be applicable only if the bank reports a net profit.