Public sector bank employees across India are set to walk out for three days from September 28 to 30, with unions warning of an indefinite strike from October 26 if their demands remain unaddressed.
The action is being led by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which claims to represent close to 90 percent of the banking workforce, including employees at public sector banks and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).
The central demand is the introduction of a five-day banking week, under which all Saturdays would become holidays alongside Sundays. Unions say the proposal has been pending since the 2024 wage settlement, despite an agreement in principle. The five-day week demand has been raised across multiple strikes over more than a decade, with the second and fourth Saturdays first made holidays in 2015.
Beyond working hours, unions are pushing for pension updation, a uniform dearness allowance formula for retirees, and an option for employees currently under the National Pension System to return to the Old Pension Scheme. A dispute over the performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme : which unions say was revised unilaterally and discriminates against some employees has also fuelled the agitation, though the government has kept that scheme in abeyance following discussions.
The timing of the strike has drawn a sharp response from the government. September 30 marks the half-yearly closing of banks, and combined with the preceding weekend, the disruption could stretch to five days without normal branch services. The Finance Ministry has warned that the stoppage could affect customers, businesses, government transactions and international banking operations. A conciliation meeting was held on September 22, where the Department of Financial Services said the five-day banking issue remained under consideration, but differences between the two sides have not been resolved.
The State Bank of India has advised customers to complete branch-related transactions before September 28. ATMs and mobile banking services are expected to remain operational, though cheque-clearing may be delayed.
