- Bank unions begin a three-day nationwide strike from September 28 to 30 in India
- Strike impacts public sector and regional rural bank branches more than private banks
- Disruptions expected in cash, cheque processing, and branch services during strike days
Bank branches across India are likely to see disruptions from Monday as banking unions begin a three-day nationwide strike, pressing the government to introduce a five-day workweek and address a range of unresolved employee demands.
The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body representing seven major bank unions, has called the strike from September 28 to 30.
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The latest strike comes weeks after a nationwide one-day strike on September 11 and is expected to affect several branch-level services, including cash deposits and withdrawals, cheque processing and other routine transactions. The impact is likely to be greater at public sector banks and regional rural banks.
Since the strike begins immediately after the weekend, customers could face disruption to physical banking services for five consecutive days.
The timing also coincides with September 30, the half-yearly closing day for banks, when lenders typically carry out reconciliation, settlements and other financial work. This could add to the pressure on branch operations.
However, digital banking services such as UPI, internet and mobile banking and ATM transactions are expected to continue as usual. New-generation private banks are also likely to see less disruption, as the strike is mainly being backed by unions representing employees of public sector banks and regional rural banks.
State Bank of India has advised customers to complete any essential branch-related work in advance and use ATMs, internet and mobile banking, UPI and other digital channels during the strike. The bank said some services could still be affected despite efforts to keep essential operations running.
The unions' main demand is the implementation of a five-day banking week, with all Saturdays declared holidays.
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The Indian Banks' Association had agreed to the proposal under the 2024 wage settlement, but its implementation requires government approval.
Unions have also raised issues related to pension benefits, including updating pension benefits and a uniform dearness allowance formula for pensioners, besides seeking an option for employees covered under the National Pension System to shift to the Old Pension Scheme.
The government has urged bank employees to call off the strike and resolve the outstanding issues through dialogue.
The Finance Ministry said the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, one of the unions' major concerns, had already been kept in abeyance after discussions. It said the five-day banking demand remains under consideration.
Union leaders, however, maintain that the absence of a commitment on five-day banking has left them with little option but to continue their agitation.
The UFBU has also threatened an indefinite nationwide strike from October 26 if the issue remains unresolved.
(With PTI inputs)
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