Bank employees’ unions have issued a notice for a nationwide strike on January 27 to press for their long-pending demand for a five-day work week.
If the strike goes ahead, public sector banking operations could be disrupted for three consecutive days, as January 25 and 26 are already holidays. Most public sector banks have informed customers about possible service disruptions if the strike materialises.
Following the notice by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), the Chief Labour Commissioner held conciliation meetings on Wednesday and Thursday.
However, as of Saturday evening, the UFBU—an umbrella body of nine unions representing bank officers and employees—was still planning to proceed with the strike.
“Despite detailed discussions, there was no positive outcome from the conciliation proceedings,” the UFBU said.
Banks likely to be affected include the State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, and other government-owned lenders.
Currently, bank employees get the second and fourth Saturdays off each month in addition to Sundays, effectively resulting in six working days in most weeks.
According to a media report, the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) had agreed to a five-day work week during a wage revision settlement with the UFBU in March 2024, but the decision has yet to be implemented.
“There would be no loss of man-hours, as we have agreed to work an extra 40 minutes daily from Monday to Friday,” the UFBU had said earlier this month, adding that it was unfortunate the government had not responded to what it described as a genuine demand.
The UFBU pointed out that institutions such as the RBI, LIC, stock exchanges and government offices already follow a five-day work week, arguing that there was no justification for banks to operate differently.
The proposed strike is unlikely to affect branches of large private sector banks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
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