The nationwide strike call by Union Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has disrupted services across public sector banks in the country. The strike will not affect the private sector banks, including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank, as they do not participate in these union-led protests.
The UFBU, an umbrella body of seven unions representing 90 per cent of officer and employee strength, has called for the strike, demanding a five-day workweek and a resolution of pending wage-related issues.
Most branches of public sector banks, including the State Bank of India, were completely or partially closed, affecting services like cash deposits, withdrawals, cheque clearances, applications for new fixed deposits, and physical loans.
The functioning of some old-generation private banks, including Federal Bank, South Indian Bank, Dhanlaxmi Bank, RBL Bank, Karnataka Bank, CSB Bank and Jammu and Kashmir Bank, has also been affected.
Friday’s strike will come as a jolt to customers as it comes ahead of the weekend. The banks won’t function on September 12, a second Saturday. While September 13 is a Sunday, several banks across the country, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bhubaneswar, will remain closed on September 14 on account of Ganesh Chaturthi. Some locations have an additional holiday on September 15, resulting in a five-day break.
This means customers in some states could face several consecutive days without regular branch services.
Digital services available
Branch-based services, including document submission, KYC-related work, cheque-related services and other counter transactions, will not be available in public sector banks. However, digital services, including UPI, internet banking, mobile banking and ATM services, will be available.
Most public sector banks have notified their customers about the potential impact of the strike on regular operations. An advisory issued by SBI said, “Some old-generation private sector banks may see minor or partial disruptions at specific branches if local staff participate.”
More strikes?
The UFBU has also called for a three-day nationwide strike from September 28 to September 30, 2026. The second strike is expected to be more severe as the dates fall around the half-yearly closing period for banks.
The body has been pushing for multiple demands, including a regular corporate five-day banking week for employees. Currently, second and fourth Saturdays are bank holidays. The revised structure proposes that all Saturdays be holidays. However, employees have agreed to work an additional 40 minutes from Monday to Friday to adjust working hours.
The proposal was submitted to the Finance Ministry after the Indian Banks’ Association (IIBA) agreed to the points in March 2024. However, unions are still waiting for government approval.
The union has also raised objections to the current Performance Linked Initiative (PLI) structure prescribed by the Department of Financial Services. The PLI scheme is an annual variable pay structure designed to reward PSB employees based on performance parameters. Under the current structure, the union argues that a large share of the bank’s budget goes to the top 5 per cent.
Other demands such as updating and improving pensions, a uniform dearness allowance formula for all pensioners and an option for employees to switch to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) from the National Pension System (NPS) also remain unresolved.
