Banking services across the country are likely to be severely affected on January 27, 2026, following a call for an All India Bank Strike by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), a joint platform of nine major unions representing bank employees and officers.
The strike will see the participation of nearly eight lakh bank employees and officers working in public sector banks, private sector banks, foreign banks, regional rural banks, and cooperative banks.
The UFBU, comprising the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers Association (AIBOA), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO), has announced the strike to press for the implementation of a five-day work week in the banking industry.
The core demand of the unions is the declaration of all Saturdays as holidays, beyond the existing second and fourth Saturdays, in line with recommendations made by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). The proposal was part of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the IBA and UFBU on December 7, 2023, and was also agreed upon in the Settlement/Joint Note dated March 8, 2024. However, the proposal is still awaiting approval from the Government.
According to UFBU, the demand for a five-day work week has been pending for over a decade. Under the 10th Bipartite Settlement and 7th Joint Note signed in 2015, it was agreed that the second and fourth Saturdays would be holidays, with an assurance that the remaining Saturdays would be considered for holidays in due course. Despite repeated assurances, the issue remained unresolved.
In 2023, after detailed discussions, it was mutually agreed that daily working hours from Monday to Friday would be increased by 40 minutes to compensate for declaring all Saturdays as holidays. While the IBA forwarded this recommendation to the Government, approval has not been granted even after two years.
Frustrated by the delay, the UFBU had earlier announced a two-day strike on March 24 and 25, 2025, which was deferred after assurances that the matter was under active consideration. The unions, however, allege that no concrete action has followed.
Highlighting alleged discrimination, UFBU pointed out that institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, LIC, GIC, Central and State Government offices, stock exchanges, and money markets already function on a five-day work week. With banking services increasingly available through digital platforms and alternative delivery channels, the unions asserted that declaring Saturdays as holidays would not cause major inconvenience to customers.
Stating that bank employees and officers are “highly aggrieved,” the UFBU said the strike has been “forced upon” them due to the Government’s continued inaction. The unions have appealed to the banking public to bear with the inconvenience caused by the one-day strike on January 27.
If the issue remains unresolved, the UFBU has hinted at intensifying its agitation in the days ahead.
