Jammu, Sept 24: The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), representing seven bank employees’ and officers’ unions, has announced a three-day nationwide strike from September 28 to 30, followed by an indefinite strike from October 26 over its demand for a five-day working week in the banking sector.
The announcement was made during a demonstration held by bank employees and officers in Jammu on Thursday.
The UFBU comprises the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF) and Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC).
According to the UFBU, around eight lakh bank employees and officers working in public sector, private sector and foreign banks, as well as Regional Rural Banks and cooperative banks, are expected to participate in the September 28–30 strike.
Addressing the demonstration, AIBOC J&K and Ladakh UT Secretary Rajesh Mehta said the unions were seeking government approval to implement a five-day working week in the banking industry by declaring the remaining Saturdays as holidays.
Banks currently observe holidays on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month, while other Saturdays are working days.
Mehta said the Indian Banks’ Association had recommended the five-day working week following a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the IBA and UFBU in December 2023 and the Settlement/Joint Note signed in March 2024.
He said the proposal had remained pending with the government and that the unions had earlier deferred a proposed strike in March 2025 after being informed that the matter was under active consideration.
According to the UFBU, the proposed arrangement would involve an increase of 40 minutes in daily working hours from Monday to Friday in lieu of holidays on the remaining Saturdays.
Union leaders said the demand had also been discussed during earlier bipartite settlements and joint notes, with the second and fourth Saturdays having been declared holidays in 2015.
The unions cited the working schedules followed by several institutions and financial-sector entities while arguing that the remaining Saturdays could be declared holidays without significantly affecting banking services, particularly given the availability of digital and other alternative banking channels.
The UFBU said the September strike had been called after what it described as a lack of progress on the issue despite previous representations and protest programmes.
The unions appealed to banking customers to cooperate during the proposed strike and expressed regret for any inconvenience that may be caused.
Comments are closed.