Banking Services to Be Disrupted on January 27 as Unions Strike for Five-Day Work Week

Banking operations at public sector banks across India are expected to face major disruption on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, as nine major bank employee and officer unions under the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) proceed with a nationwide strike to demand the immediate implementation of a five-day work week.

The action comes after a conciliation meeting on January 23 with the Chief Labour Commissioner failed to break the deadlock between the unions and the government/Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). In a statement, UFBU said there was no positive outcome from the discussions, leaving them “compelled to proceed” with the strike.

Extended closure hits customers for three days

With banks already closed on Sunday (January 25) and Monday (January 26) on account of Republic Day, customers of public sector banks could face branch-level service disruptions for three consecutive days. Branch services such as cash deposits and withdrawals, cheque clearances, demand drafts, and administrative work are likely to be affected or unavailable at State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of Baroda and other government-owned lenders.

While digital banking platforms including UPI, internet banking and mobile apps are expected to continue functioning normally, ATM cash availability could see localized disruptions due to logistical challenges.

Five-Day Work Week—long pending demand

The central demand behind the strike is the declaration of all Saturdays as holidays, effectively shifting public sector banks to a five-day Monday-to-Friday work week. Unions point out that this proposal was agreed in principle between UFBU and the IBA during the wage revision settlement in March 2024, where employees also agreed to work an extra 40 minutes per day to compensate for the lost Saturdays.

Currently, bank staff get second and fourth Saturdays off each month, meaning most weeks still involve a six-day work schedule. UFBU argues there would be no loss of productive man-hours if a five-day week were implemented, given the longer weekday hours already offered.

The unions also highlight that other major financial and government institutions—such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), LIC, GIC, stock exchanges and central/state government offices—already follow a five-day weekly schedule, questioning why public sector banks are lagging behind.

Speaking ahead of the strike, representatives from unions including the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) reiterated that the strike is not aimed “against customers” but is part of a broader push for a sustainable, humane and efficient banking system with improved work-life balance for employees.

Who will be affected?

Public Sector Banks: Most likely to see widespread disruption, including major lenders like SBI, PNB and Bank of Baroda.

Private Sector Banks: Lenders such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank are expected to operate normally since their employees are not part of the UFBU strike call.

Several public sector banks have already informed stock exchanges and customers of the potential impact, with SBI stating that while it has made arrangements to mitigate the impact, operations may still be affected.

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