Eight lakh bank officers and employees across the country will be on a three-day strike on September 28, 29, and 30.

Eight lakh bank officers and employees across the country will be on a three-day strike on September 28, 29, and 30.

Indefinite strike starting October 26, 2026 – a protest was held in Chandigarh today

Chandigarh 23 September ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU)—comprising seven unions of bank employees and officers, including 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), and Indian National Bank Officers' Congress (INBOC)—has called for a three-day all-India bank strike on September 28, 29, and 30, 2026. Under this, 8 lakh bank employees and officers working in public sector banks, private sector banks, foreign banks, regional rural banks, and cooperative banks will go on strike. In this sequence of events, a massive protest was held today outside the Bank of India in Sector 17, Chandigarh, with the participation of over 500 bank officers and employees. Leaders from the United Forum of Bank Unions—representing various banks—addressed the media and outlined their demands.

Speaking on the occasion, Comrade Priyavrat—Convener of UFBU, Chandigarh, and General Secretary of the SBI Officers' Association (Chandigarh Circle)—stated that they are seeking government approval to implement a '5-day work week' in the banking industry and to declare all Saturdays as holidays (currently, banks remain closed on the second and fourth Saturdays). This demand is based on the recommendations of the Indian Banks' Association (IBA), as outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the IBA and the UFBU on December 7, 2023, and the agreement/joint note dated March 8, 2024. Comrade Priyavrat stated that while the recommendation has been submitted to the government, it has unfortunately been awaiting government approval for the past two years. Faced with no response from the government, the UFBU called for a two-day strike on March 24 and 25, 2025; however, the strike was deferred after the government informed us that the matter was being actively considered. Despite this firm assurance, the government is not granting approval. Therefore, after drawing the government's attention through various protest actions, the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has called for a three-day strike on September 28, 29, and 30, 2026, followed by an indefinite strike starting October 26, 2026. It is also noted that this measure has already been implemented in the financial sector within the RBI, LIC, and GIC. All central and state government offices operate only from Monday to Friday. Stock exchanges operate from Monday to Friday. Money markets, foreign exchange transactions, etc., remain closed on Saturdays and Sundays. Banks already observe holidays on the second and fourth Saturdays. Therefore, declaring holidays on the remaining Saturdays and extending working hours from Monday to Friday will not cause any major inconvenience to bank customers in the current scenario, as numerous alternative delivery channels are available for accessing banking services.

Other UFBU leaders—Comrade Iqbal Singh Mallhi, Comrade Rajiv Sarhindi, Comrade Jagdish Rai, Comrade Pankaj Sharma, Comrade Kranti Rai, Comrade H.S. Mann, Comrade Santosh Sinha, Comrade Amandeep Singh, Comrade Vibhor, Comrade Yogesh Kumar, Comrade Sachin Katiyar, Comrade B.S. Gill, and Comrade Gurbakhsh Singh—informed the media that they are demanding the implementation of a five-day work week in the banking sector. An agreement regarding this had been reached in the 10th Bipartite Settlement/7th Joint Note signed by the IBA and the government in 2015; accordingly, holidays are currently observed on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month, while the other Saturdays involve a full day of work instead of a half-day. They further stated that during salary negotiations, they were assured that their demand to declare the remaining Saturdays as holidays would be considered in due course. However, the matter has been delayed. In 2022, the government and the Indian Banks' Association agreed to discuss increasing working hours with the UFBU to facilitate declaring the remaining Saturdays as holidays. In 2023, following discussions, it was decided that daily working hours would be increased by 40 minutes from Monday to Friday, and the remaining Saturdays would be declared holidays.

Other UFBU leaders—Comrade Kaushal, Comrade Manju Sharma, Comrade Ajay Gapuria, Comrade Mukesh Kumar, Comrade S.S. Bhatia, Comrade Suman Sangwan, Comrade Narinder Kumar, Comrade Prem Pawar, Comrade Gaurav Sharma, Comrade Rohan Tandon, and Comrade Vinay Kumar—also addressed the protest demonstration. They stated that bank employees and officers are deeply aggrieved by the discrimination they are facing and that the strike held on January 27, 2026, was forced upon them. The UFBU appealed to the public for their support despite any inconvenience caused.