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Banking operations of nationalist assemblage banks crossed the state are apt to beryllium impacted with the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) deciding to spell up with a nationwide onslaught connected Tuesday (January 27, 2026) to property for the contiguous implementation of a five-day enactment week.
The onslaught telephone by the UFBU, an umbrella assemblage of 9 unions representing officers and employees, comes aft a conciliation gathering connected January 23 with the Chief Labour Commissioner failed to output a affirmative outcome.
With banks remaining closed connected Sunday (January 25) and January 26 (Republic Day), the onslaught connected Tuesday (January 27) volition effect successful a disruption of branch-level services for 3 consecutive days.
"Despite elaborate discussions during the conciliation proceedings, determination was nary assurance connected our demand. Hence, we person been compelled to proceed with the onslaught action," All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), a constituent of UFBU, General Secretary C.H. Venkatachalam told PTI.
All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC) General Secretary Rupam Roy said the determination to state each Saturdays arsenic holidays was agreed betwixt the Indian Banks' Association and the UFBU during the wage revision colony successful March 2024.
"It is unfortunate that the authorities is not responding to our genuine demand. There would beryllium nary nonaccomplishment of man-hours arsenic we person agreed to enactment an other 40 minutes regular from Monday to Friday," helium said.
According to different UFBU constituent, National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE) General Secretary L. Chandrasekhar, "This question is not against customers, but for a sustainable, humane, and businesslike banking system. A rested banker serves the federation better. A balanced workforce strengthens fiscal stability. Five-day banking is not a luxury; it is an economical and quality necessity."
Services specified arsenic currency deposits, withdrawals, cheque clearances, and administrative enactment are expected to beryllium deed astatine branches of nationalist assemblage banks (PSBs), including State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), and Bank of Baroda.
However, operations astatine large backstage assemblage lenders similar HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank are expected to stay mostly unaffected arsenic their employees are not portion of the unions that volition beryllium going connected strike.
Digital banking services, including UPI and net banking, volition proceed to function, though ATM currency availability could look localised issues owed to logistical delays.
Several nationalist assemblage lenders, including banking elephantine SBI, person informed banal exchanges astir the imaginable impact.
"We counsel that portion the slope has made indispensable arrangements to guarantee mean functioning successful its branches and offices connected the time of the strike, it is apt that enactment successful the slope whitethorn beryllium impacted by the strike," SBI said successful a regulatory filing connected Friday (January 23).
The unions are demanding the declaration of each Saturdays arsenic holidays, a cardinal constituent that was reportedly agreed upon during the 12th bipartite colony signed with the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) successful March 2024 but is awaiting authorities notification.
Currently, banks stay unfastened connected the first, third, and 5th Saturdays of each month.
