The United Forum of Bank Unions has decided to defer the proposed three-day bank strike following progress in discussions with the IBA
It had not called off its proposed indefinite strike from October 26
KARIMNAGAR, SEPTEMBER 28, 2026: A million-dollar question remains hanging in the minds of the bank employees of PSUs, RRBs and Cooperative Banks with the sudden and late-night cancellation of the three-day bank strike from September 28 to 30 demanding the implementation of a five-day working week.
As usual the banks reopened on Monday after the employees attended to their duties on Sunday (albeit Black Sunday) in protest. After attending their duties, the bank employees have expressed widespread disappointment and frustration over the sudden deferment of three-day nationwide strike.
The bank employees felt betrayed because they had already given up their Sunday to prepare for branch closures or coordinate logistics, only for the leadership to pull back at the last minute based on verbal assurances. On the other hand, the social media posts and reactions from banking professionals criticised the UFBU leadership for accepting the committee formations instead of securing concrete, binding timelines for the long-standing demands.
The cancelled bank strike may bring some relief to customers who were worried about delays in banking services. But a separate question continues to concern bank employees and customers alike: Will banks in India finally move to a five-day workweek, with branches remaining closed every Saturday? The demand for a five-day workweek has been the main issue behind the strike and a long-running issue between bank employee unions and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) late on Sunday night said that it has deferred its proposed three-day nationwide strike beginning Monday, after the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) agreed to form a high-level committee with the forum to consider its demand for a five-day banking week.
The development came after UFBU’s late-night meeting with the IBA. “After detailed discussions, understandings have been reached, and hence our agitations and strike actions are deferred. Details follow,” the UFBU said in the announcement.
“On five-day banking, the IBA has agreed to form a high-level committee comprising representatives of the IBA and the United Forum,” said UFBU key negotiator C.H. Venkatachalam.
“The committee will work towards finding a solution to our demand for implementation of five-day banking and will discuss the matter with all the stakeholders”. “Second, on performance-linked incentive (PLI), there will be discussions on the issue of the discriminatory PLI for officers and modification of the scheme will be discussed with us. Third, the other pending issues will also be discussed with us,” the Bank union leaders stated.
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