3-day nationwide strike from September 28 to 30 put on hold after agreement; high-level committee to examine five-day work week demand
KD NEWS SERVICE
SRINAGAR/JAMMU, Sept 28: The proposed three-day nationwide strike by bank employees and officers from September 28 to 30 has been deferred following a late-night meeting between the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), bringing immediate relief to banking customers and institutions that had been preparing for disruption during the crucial month-end and half-yearly closing period.
The meeting between the IBA and UFBU was held at around 9:30 p.m. on September 27 and focused primarily on the unions’ longstanding demand for implementation of a five-day working week in the banking sector. Following detailed discussions, the two sides reached an understanding, after which the UFBU announced that its proposed agitation and strike actions would be deferred.
Confirming the development, Aakash Chuni, Treasurer, J&K and Ladakh UT, All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) and State Bank of India Officers Association (SBIOA), said that a meeting between the IBA and UFBU was held on September 27 in connection with the strike notice issued by the unions.
In a communication to media persons and fellow journalists, Chuni stated that following detailed discussions between the two sides, understandings had been reached and, consequently, the agitations and strike actions scheduled for September 28, 29 and 30, 2026, had been deferred.
The decision came barely hours before the proposed strike was scheduled to begin and effectively averted a major disruption to banking operations across the country. The strike had been called by the UFBU, an umbrella organisation representing several major bank employee and officer organisations, over the demand for declaring all Saturdays as holidays and introducing a five-day working schedule.
According to the understanding reached during the meeting, a high-level committee comprising representatives of the IBA and UFBU will take up the issue of declaring the remaining Saturdays as holidays. The committee is expected to deliberate on the matter and explore a framework for moving towards a five-day working week while taking into account the requirements of customers, banking operations and the wider financial system.
The UFBU, in its late-night communication, stated that after detailed discussions with the IBA, understandings had been reached and, consequently, the planned agitation and strike actions were being deferred. The confirmation from Chuni also made it clear that the three-day programme scheduled for September 28, 29 and 30 would not go ahead as announced earlier.
The development effectively changes the immediate course of the confrontation from industrial action to negotiations between the banking management and the representative organisations of employees and officers.
The five-day working week has been a long-pending demand of the banking community. Bank employees currently receive holidays on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month, while other Saturdays are generally working days. The unions have been demanding that all Saturdays be declared holidays, with working hours being suitably reorganised so that customer services and banking operations remain adequately covered.
The demand has been under discussion between the banking management and employee organisations for several years and has also figured in the bipartite settlement process. The unions have maintained that the issue deserves an early resolution and have repeatedly urged the authorities to move beyond discussions and implement the five-day schedule.
The latest strike call had assumed particular importance because it was scheduled for September 28, 29 and 30, with September 30 coinciding with the half-yearly closing of banks. A three-day stoppage at such a time could have affected a wide range of branch-level operations and created difficulties for customers requiring physical banking services.
Before the late-night understanding, bank employees and officers had been preparing for demonstrations and other protest programmes across the country. The unions had appealed to their members to participate in the agitation under the slogan “Five-Day Work Week – Our Right, Our Demand.”
In Jammu and Kashmir, bank employees and officers had announced demonstrations at 10:30 a.m. on September 28, 29 and 30 at the parking area situated between the Reserve Bank of India and the State Bank of India Administrative Office. The All India Bank Officers’ Confederation and the State Bank of India Officers Association had extended their support to the programme and appealed to their members to participate.
With the UFBU deferring the strike, the proposed demonstrations connected with the three-day agitation also stand deferred.
The proposed strike had been expected to affect routine banking services across the country. Branch operations, cash transactions, cheque-related work, account-related services and other activities requiring physical staff presence could have faced disruption during the three days. Digital banking services, including internet banking, mobile banking and other electronic payment platforms, were expected to continue, although customers could have encountered delays in services requiring branch-level intervention.
The timing of the proposed agitation had also raised concerns among businesses, traders, institutions and individual customers because the final day of the strike coincided with the end of the September half-year. The deferment has therefore removed the immediate possibility of a three-day shutdown at a particularly sensitive point in the banking calendar.
The latest understanding, however, does not amount to the immediate implementation of a five-day working week. The principal demand will now move into another phase of negotiations through the proposed high-level committee. Any eventual change in the banking workweek would require the completion of the prescribed process and the necessary approvals from the competent authorities.
The unions have consistently argued that a five-day working week would bring the banking sector in line with changing workplace practices while allowing employees greater work-life balance. They have maintained that the additional weekly holiday can be accommodated through rationalisation of working hours and improved use of technology without compromising customer service.
The banking industry has undergone considerable technological transformation in recent years, with a large volume of transactions shifting to digital platforms. The unions have cited these changes as one of the factors supporting their argument for a five-day working schedule, while the broader discussion also involves ensuring that branch availability and customer requirements continue to be adequately addressed.
Apart from the Saturday holiday issue, the latest discussions are also expected to cover other outstanding matters concerning bank employees and officers. The IBA and UFBU have agreed to pursue discussions on Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) for officers in Scale IV and above, besides taking up residual issues connected with the previous bipartite settlement and joint note.
The deferment has consequently opened the door for a fresh round of negotiations between the two sides. For the banking workforce, the central issue remains the fulfilment of the five-day working week commitment, while for the banking system, the immediate priority will be to ensure uninterrupted customer services and smooth functioning during the month-end and half-yearly closing.
The UFBU had earlier made it clear that the proposed strike was part of a sustained campaign for the resolution of its demands. The latest decision to defer the agitation following the IBA meeting indicates that the unions have opted to give the negotiating process another opportunity.
For millions of bank customers, the immediate outcome is significant: the three-day strike scheduled from September 28 to 30 will not take place as announced earlier. Banking branches are therefore expected to function normally during the period, subject to their regular working schedules.
The spotlight now shifts to the proposed IBA-UFBU high-level committee and the negotiations that will follow. The manner in which the committee addresses the issue of remaining Saturdays as holidays, and the subsequent steps required for implementation, will determine the next phase of the long-running five-day working week debate in India’s banking sector.
