State Bank of India on Thursday (September 24, 2026) issued an advisory, urging its customers to complete all important transactions before the three-day nationwide bank strike from September 28.

The customer advisory was issued in view of the proposed nationwide bank strike by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) from September 28-30. The UFBU, which claims to represent 90% of the banking workforce, is primarily seeking a 5-day banking week, among other demands.

The bank also urged people to use ATMs/ADWMs for their cash needs. “While we are making all possible efforts to provide essential banking services during the strike period, customers are requested to: complete important banking transactions in advance of the strike dates; use ATMs/ADWMs for their cash needs; use Customer Service Points (CSPs); prefer Internet Banking, YONO, Mobile Banking, UPI & other digital channels,’’ it read.

The bank also said it sincerely regrets any inconvenience caused, thanking the customers for understanding the situation.

In view of the proposed nationwide bank strike by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) from September 28 to 30, 2026, the government has announced that all Public Sector Banks and Regional Rural Banks will operate normally on Sunday (September 27, 2026).

The UFBU, which claims to represent 90% of the banking workforce, is set to go on a three-day strike beginning September 28, primarily seeking a 5-day banking week, among other demands.

The strike, if it materialises, would coincide with the half-yearly closing of the banking sector.

“In order to ensure that the genuine banking needs of the public are not adversely affected for an extended period, all Public Sector Banks and Regional Rural Banks will function normally on Sunday, the 27th of September, 2026,” the statement said.

The Reserve Bank of India has granted approval for all bank branches, offices, ATM-link branches and currency chests to remain fully operational on September 27, it said.

The Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance reiterated that the welfare and convenience of bank customers remains the government’s foremost priority.

The government and bank managements have appealed to unions to defer the proposed strike and have also taken measures to ensure that essential banking services continue uninterrupted, it said.

Banks have also advised their customers to complete essential banking transactions well in advance of the proposed strike dates to avoid any inconvenience.

(With PTI inputs)

Banking services, especially at public sector banks across the country, were impacted on Friday (September 11, 2026) after the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) called a nationwide strike to press for the immediate implementation of a five-day workweek and resolve pending wage-related issues.

The strike call given by the UFBU, an umbrella body of seven unions representing 90% of officer and employee strength, did not impact the functioning of private sector banks.

Most branches of public sector banks across the country were either completely or partially closed as both employees and officers observed the strike.

Services such as cash deposits, withdrawals, cheque clearances, and administrative work were hit at branches of most public sector banks (PSBs) and some old-generation private sector banks.

However, digital banking services, including UPI and internet banking, were functional.

“Since there was no positive outcome and the government did not agree to our demand, this strike is forced on us. Bank employees and officers are highly aggrieved that they alone are being discriminated against,” the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), a constituent of UFBU, general secretary C. H. Venkatachalam told PTI.

Meanwhile, most public sector banks have informed their customers of the likely impact of the strike on operations.

In an advisory to customers, SBI had said, “We advise that while the bank has made all necessary arrangements to ensure normal functioning of the branches and offices on the days of strike, it is likely that work in banks may be impacted by the strike”.

The unions are demanding the declaration of all Saturdays as holidays, a key point that was reportedly agreed upon during the 12th Bipartite Settlement signed with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) in March 2024 but is awaiting government notification.

Currently, banks remain open on the first, third, and fifth Saturdays of the month.

The other residual demands, including updation and improvement of pension, a uniform dearness allowance formula for all pensioners and an option for employees covered under the National Pension System (NPS) to switch to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), also remained unresolved.

Strike halts work at 7,000 branches in Madhya Pradesh

The nationwide bank strike brought operations to a halt at around 7,000 branches in Madhya Pradesh on Friday (September 11), affecting daily business worth around ₹5,500 crore, a bank employees’ organisation said.

Madhya Pradesh Bank Employees Association chairman Mohankrishna Shukla told PTI that around 42,000 employees and officers from nearly 7,000 of the state’s 8,707 bank branches joined the strike.

Employees of 12 public sector banks, various regional rural banks and cooperative banks participated in the strike, he said.

The story so far: The Government recently announced that it was putting on hold the performance-linked incentive (PLI) system it had planned to implement for public sector bank employees. However, the employees are still going ahead with their strike on September 11, highlighting that not all of their grievances have been addressed.

What are the main grievances of the bank employees?

One of the main reasons the United Forum of Bank Unions, the umbrella body of seven bank employee unions, called for a nation-wide strike on September 11 was to protest the PLI scheme announced by the Department of Financial Services in November 2024 and applicable for the financial year 2025-26.

This revised PLI scheme was applicable only to Scale IV officers and above, a major point of contention. This scheme allows these senior officers to receive PLI of up to 365 days of Basic Pay based on individual performance. 

This, according to the employee unions, was discriminatory in nature as it was a significant departure from the uniform 15 days Basic Pay plus Dearness Allowance formula applicable to the rest of the workforce.

This revised PLI scheme was also a departure from the agreement between the unions and the Indian Banks’ Association in 2020 under which the PLI was to be linked to the overall performance of individual banks and would be uniform for employees and officers.

The second demand by the bank employees was for a five-day workweek. The bank employees had in 2024 suggested increasing the work timings per day by 40 minutes so that there would not be a reduction in the total hours worked per week. This proposal has been pending with the government. 

What has the government done to address the strike call?

A delegation of bank employees, led by the labour wing of the RSS, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and officials of the Department of Financial Services on September 8. 

Following the meeting, the Ministry of Finance announced that the PLI would be put on hold pending further discussion. It added that the bank employees also raised the issues of a review of ex-gratia, providing medical facilities for retired employees, among other concerns related to employees.

Why did this not work?

Following the meeting, UFBU took to social media to acknowledge that the meeting did indeed take place and confirmed the agreement with the government to put the PLI scheme on hold. However, it added that there was “no positive development” regarding its demand for a five-day work week. As a result, the strike call remains in effect. 

In fact, the bank unions have threatened another three-day nationwide strike from September 28-30, coinciding with the half-yearly closing period. It has also warned of a “continuous indefinite strike” from October 26 if its demands remain unaddressed.

What would the immediate impact of the strike be?

The bank unions have timed their strike carefully. Should the strike actually happen, it would disrupt branch banking services for four days across the country. The strike itself will fall on a Friday (September 11). This Saturday (September 12) is the second Saturday of the month and is, as such, a day off for banks. Sunday (September 13) is a weekly off. Monday (September 14) is Ganesh Chaturthi, which is a holiday in several States across the country.

The rise of app-based and internet banking has meant that bank branches are seeing falling usage. However, branches are still the sole banking point of contact for senior citizens and customers in rural and semi-rural India. It is this category of people that are likely to be most impacted by the strikes. 

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which consists of nine unions of bank employees and officers, has called for an all India bank strike on January 27 demanding government approval for implementation of a five-day work week in banks.

If the strike by the influential forum of the bank unions happens as planned, for customers there will be no branch-level services for four days consecutively. Banks will be closed on January 24 (fourth Saturday), January 25 (Sunday) and January 26 (Republic Day). Most of the strike calls in recent years, however, have not generated the impact seen during strikes in the past primarily on account of availability of alternative delivery channels such as online banking and ATMs.

“From the United Forum of Bank Unions, we have been demanding the introduction of 5 working days per week in the banking sector. In the 10th Bipartite Settlement… it was agreed by Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and the government and accordingly the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of every month are declared as holidays while the other Saturdays are full working days instead of half a day working,” UFBU said.

At that time, it was assured that the demand for declaring all the remaining Saturdays as holiday would be considered in due course. But the issue was kept pending, the Forum said in a release, calling for government approval for implementation of five-day work week in Banking Industry. The IBA has already recommended this based on the MoUs it signed with UFBU in December 2023 and as agreed in the settlement/joint Note in March 2024.

All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA); All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC); the National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE); All India Bank Officers association (AIBOA); the Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI); Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF); Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC); the National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW); and the National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO) are part of the UFBU and represent lakhs of bank staff, most of them in public sector banks besides others in private sector banks, regional rural banks and co-op banks.

The decision on the five day week has been pending with the Government for the past two years. The UFBU had given a call for a two-day strike on March 24 and 25 but deferred it after the government said the issue was under active consideration. Making a strong case, the UFBU said five-day week has already been implemented in RBI, LIC and GIC. A five-day work week is also followed for government offices, stock exchanges, money market and foreign exchange transactions, it said. “Hence, declaring the remaining Saturdays as holidays with increased working hours from Monday to Friday will not pose any major problem for the bank customers in the present circumstances when various alternative delivery channels to access banking services are available. Bank employees and officers are highly aggrieved that they alone are being discriminated against. We request the banking public to bear with us for any inconvenience caused,” UFBU said.