Bank Unions Call Nationwide Strike on January 27 Over Five-Day Work Week Demand

New Delhi, January 24, 2026 Banking services across India may face major disruption on January 27 as bank employee unions have announced a nationwide strike to press for a long-pending demand of a uniform five-day work week. Since January 25 and 26 are already holidays, public sector banks could remain largely shut for three consecutive days if the strike goes ahead. The strike call has been given by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine major bank unions representing officers and employees. Most public sector banks, including State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Bank of India, have already warned customers about possible interruptions in branch services and transactions. Ahead of the strike, the Chief Labour Commissioner held conciliation meetings on Wednesday and Thursday after receiving the strike notice. However, the talks failed to yield a breakthrough. Reacting to the outcome, the UFBU said, "Despite detailed discussions, finally there was no positive outcome out of the conciliation proceedings," indicating that unions were inclined to proceed with the protest. Currently, bank employees get the second and fourth Saturdays off every month along with Sundays, resulting in most weeks being six-day working weeks. Unions pointed out that during the wage settlement in March 2024, the Indian Banks’ Association had agreed to declare all Saturdays as holidays, but the decision is yet to be implemented. Reiterating their stand, the UFBU earlier stated, "There would be no loss of man-hours as we have agreed to work an extra 40 minutes daily from Monday to Friday," adding, “It is unfortunate that the government is not responding to our genuine demand.” The unions have also argued that institutions like the RBI, LIC, stock exchanges and government offices already follow a five-day work system, questioning why banks should be treated differently. While public sector banks are expected to be affected, private lenders such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank are unlikely to face major disruption. : Banking Services May Stall as Unions Stick to January 27 Strike Call Banking operations across the country are likely to be hit on January 27 as bank employee unions plan a nationwide strike to push for a long-pending five-day work week. With January 25 and 26 already declared holidays, customers of public sector banks may face disruption for three straight days if the strike goes ahead. The strike has been announced by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which represents officers and employees from major public sector banks. Lenders such as State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Bank of India have already informed customers about possible service disruptions. Talks held by the Chief Labour Commissioner to resolve the issue failed to bring any agreement. After the conciliation meetings ended without progress, the UFBU said, "Despite detailed discussions, finally there was no positive outcome out of the conciliation proceedings," making it clear that unions were not satisfied with the response so far. At present, bank staff get only the second and fourth Saturdays off each month, which means most weeks still have six working days. The unions argue that a five-day work system was agreed upon during the wage settlement in March 2024 but has not been implemented yet. Reiterating their position, the UFBU earlier stated, "There would be no loss of man-hours as we have agreed to work an extra 40 minutes daily from Monday to Friday," and added, “It is unfortunate that the government is not responding to our genuine demand.” While public sector banks are expected to be affected, private banks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank may continue normal operations.