Bank Unions Call Three-Day Nationwide Strike From September 28, Five-Day Banking Week at Centre of Dispute
India’s bank employee unions are set to observe a three-day nationwide strike from September 28 to 30, 2026, after the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) maintained its strike call despite appeals from the government, the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and bank managements. The UFBU represents seven major bank employee and officer organisations and says it represents about 90% of the banking workforce.
The principal unresolved demand is implementation of a five-day banking week. Under the existing system, bank branches generally remain closed on the second and fourth Saturdays, while other Saturdays can be working days. The unions want all Saturdays to become holidays, with working hours adjusted from Monday to Friday.
The five-day week proposal has been a point of contention since the wage revision settlement of March 2024. Bank unions maintain that the Indian Banks’ Association agreed to the proposal and that it was subsequently forwarded to the government for approval. The Finance Ministry, however, has said there was no commitment from the ministry to implement the proposal and that the matter remains under consideration.
The unions had also raised objections to the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. The government says the PLI scheme has now been kept in abeyance, leaving five-day banking as the central unresolved issue behind the latest strike action.
Other issues raised during the wider dispute include pension-related matters, dearness allowance for retirees, pension options and various pending service and wage-related concerns. The unions have argued that continued delays require further industrial action.
The proposed strike comes at a particularly sensitive time for customers because September 26 is the fourth Saturday and September 27 is Sunday. To reduce the disruption, the government has directed public sector banks and regional rural banks to operate normally on Sunday, September 27. The Reserve Bank of India has approved the operation of bank branches, offices, ATM-linked branches and currency chests on that day.
The government and bank managements have appealed to employees to call off or defer the strike, while conciliation efforts between the unions, the Department of Financial Services and the banking industry have so far failed to produce a settlement acceptable to the unions. UFBU has said it will reconsider the strike if there is concrete progress on five-day banking.
For customers, the greatest impact is expected at physical branches of participating banks. Major public sector lenders including SBI have advised customers to complete time-sensitive branch transactions in advance and use ATMs, internet banking, mobile banking, UPI and other digital channels during the strike period. Digital services are expected to continue, although individual services can vary by bank.
New-generation private banks are expected to be less affected because the strike is primarily directed at employees represented by the participating unions. Some older private-sector banks may nevertheless experience disruption depending on employee participation.
The dispute could escalate further if no agreement is reached. The UFBU has announced a proposed indefinite nationwide strike beginning October 26, 2026, if the five-day banking demand remains unresolved.
With the September 28–30 action approaching, the immediate focus is therefore on whether further negotiations can produce a concrete decision on five-day banking. Until then, customers relying on branch-based services face the possibility of extended disruption around the September 26–30 period.
