- By Aditya Pratap Singh
- Tue, 27 Jan 2026 11:37 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Bank Strike: Bank branches across India--especially Public sector banks may face disruption in their services on January 27 as a bank employee unions have called a nationwide strike, seeking implementation of their long-standing 5-day work week demand.
The banks were closed on Monday, observing a holiday for Republic Day. Meanwhile, the proposed strike may disturb the services across the nation.
Around 800,000 employees working in state-owned, private, foreign, regional rural, and cooperative banks may be on a nationwide strike.
What Are The Demands Of Bank Unions?
The nationwide strike has been called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body representing major bank employees’ associations. According to associations, the strike was announced after repeated assurances by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) failed to translate into government action.
Around 8 lakh employees across state-owned, private, foreign, regional rural, and cooperative banks are expected to participate in the nationwide strike. Union representatives stated that their main demand is the approval of a five-day banking week, making all Saturdays official holidays.
Under the proposal, working hours from Monday to Friday would be extended by 40 minutes, while Saturdays would be fully off.
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They highlighted that the proposal was agreed in principle during wage revision talks, but has been delayed due to the lack of government approval. T
he union representatives further argued that the five-day work week is essential to ease workload, improve efficiency, and align banking operations with other financial and government sectors.