Bank Strike Showdown: 5-Day Banking Disruption Looms as UFBU Refuses to Back Down – Indian PSU

The United Forum of Bank Unions will proceed with its three-day nationwide strike from September 28 to 30 after failing to secure a positive response from the government on the implementation of a five-day banking week.

The timing gives the strike an added significance. September 30 is the half-year closing date for banks, making the disruption particularly sensitive for reconciliation, provisioning, treasury and market operations. The Finance Ministry has warned that, when combined with the preceding weekend, the strike could effectively disrupt banking services for five consecutive days.

The government maintains that one of the unions’ two principal demands has already been addressed. The Performance Linked Incentive scheme for public sector bank executives has been kept in abeyance for FY 2025-26 following employee representations, with the issue to be taken up during the ongoing bipartite settlement and joint-note discussions.

The unresolved issue is the five-day banking week, under which all Saturdays would become holidays. The unions maintain that the proposal was already agreed to as part of the March 2024 wage settlement and are demanding its implementation. The government, however, says the demand remains under examination and has urged employees to resolve the matter through dialogue.

The confrontation is now moving beyond a three-day strike. The unions have also announced an indefinite strike from October 26 if the five-day banking week issue remains unresolved.

For customers, branch-based services are expected to face the principal disruption during the strike period, while banks have advised customers to complete important branch transactions in advance and make use of digital banking channels and ATMs where available.

The September 28-30 action therefore represents more than another routine banking strike. It comes at the intersection of a long-pending labour demand, a government unwilling to immediately notify the five-day week and the critical half-year closing of the banking system.