KARIMNAGAR, SEPTEMBER 11, 2026: As part of the nationwide banking strike, employees of various banks in Karimnagar town took out a rally and staged a protest demanding a five-day working week, withdrawal of discriminatory Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) and revision of pensions on Friday (September 11, 2026).
The strike call was given by the United Forum of Banking Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of seven unions representing 90 per cent of officers and employees.
All the public sector banks and cooperative bank employees have assembled in front of the Karimnagar District Cooperative Central Bank (DCCB) head office in Karimnagar town and took out a rally carrying placards and raising slogans demanding a five-day working week on par with that of central government employees.
The rally traversed through all important streets of the town, covering Karimnagar one town police station, RTC bus stand, Indira chowk and converged into a protest dharna in front of UBI branch at RTC bus station complex.
Karimnagar District Employees Coordination Committee secretaries V Damodar and J Rakesh, AIBOC leaders Venkatesh and Hari, Telangana Cooperative Bank employees association Karimnagar chapter leaders Praveen, Raju, G Hanumantha Rao, SBI leaders Pochaiah and Srinivas Reddy, other bank leaders Sai, Madhu, Madhava Rao, Nikhil, Spandana, Anitha, Karuna, Sharath, Anil, Arjun, Sridhar, Chandrashekhar and others were also present.
As the Union government failed to fulfil the promise made to the bankers in the year 2024 about a five-day banking week, the United Forum of Bank Unions were forced to go on strike on September 11. They had also decided to go on a further three-day strike from September 28 to 30, and if the government fails to fulfil the promise, they would go on an indefinite strike from October 26, 2026.
The leaders said that banking services would be affected across the country during the proposed three-day strike from September 28 to 30 and appealed to the government to resolve the promised five-day working week at the earliest.
Speaking during the protest dharna, the Union leaders said that the five-day banking week had been pending for a long time even after agreeing at the 12th Bipartite settlement, which was signed after discussions with the government, the Indian Banks Association and Bank employees’ representatives.
Stating that the banks currently observe Second Saturday and Fourth Saturday as holidays, they argued that the remaining working hours could be adjusted across other five days by extending the working hours from Monday to Friday.
Banking services affected
On the other hand, banking, especially at public sector banks across the country, was impacted on Friday after the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) called a nationwide strike to press for the immediate implementation of a five-day workweek and resolution of pending wage-related issues.
The strike call by the UFBU, an umbrella body of seven unions representing 90 per cent of officers and employees, did not impact the functioning of private sector banks. Most branches of public sector banks across the country were either completely or partially closed as employees and officers observed the strike.
Services such as cash deposits and withdrawals, cheque clearances and administrative work were hit at branches of most public sector banks (PSBs) and some old-generation private sector banks.
However, digital banking services, including UPI and internet banking, remained functional.
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