Bank Strike: Government Appeal Rejected, Unions Stick To 28-30 September
Pune, 23rd September 2026: Banking services across India could face disruption from September 28 to 30 as bank unions have decided to proceed with a three-day nationwide strike over their demand for a five-day working week.
The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) confirmed the strike after a conciliation meeting on September 22 involving the unions, Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), Department of Financial Services (DFS) and bank management representatives failed to produce concrete progress on the demand.
The strike follows a government appeal to unions to defer the action and continue discussions. The UFBU, however, said it would reconsider the strike only if there was concrete and positive progress towards implementing a five-day banking week.
The timing could result in an effective five-day disruption for customers. September 26 is the fourth Saturday and September 27 is Sunday, followed by the three-day strike from September 28 to 30. However, the government has announced that public sector banks and regional rural banks will operate normally on Sunday, September 27, to ensure customers can access essential banking services. The Reserve Bank of India has also approved the operation of bank branches, offices, ATM-linked branches and currency chests on that day.
Customers who need branch-based services have been advised to complete important transactions in advance. Services such as physical documentation, employee-assisted banking and other branch-dependent work could be affected during the strike.
Digital banking services including UPI, internet banking, mobile banking and ATMs are expected to remain available for routine transactions, although the availability of individual services may vary between banks. SBI, Canara Bank and other lenders have asked customers to plan transactions ahead of the strike.
The main unresolved demand behind the strike is the implementation of a five-day banking week. UFBU has maintained that the arrangement was agreed to as part of the wage revision settlement signed in March 2024, but has not yet been implemented.
The government has said the five-day banking proposal remains under consideration and that the views of other stakeholders need to be taken into account. The Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, another demand raised by the unions, has been kept in abeyance by the government.
The unions have also announced an indefinite strike from October 26 if the five-day banking demand remains unresolved.
