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Bank employees across the country are once again mobilizing for their demands. Bank unions under the banner of United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) have demanded immediate implementation of 5-day work week. Regarding this demand, the unions have warned of going on a nationwide strike on January 27. If there is no agreement between the government and the unions and this strike occurs, the general public may have to face major disruption in banking services.

The work of banks may come to a standstill for three consecutive days, after the holiday of 25th and 26th January, ultimatum for strike on 27th.

If this strike happens as per plan, then its biggest and direct impact will be visible on the functioning of public sector banks. The matter of concern for customers is that banking services may remain affected for three consecutive days. This is because holidays are already scheduled for January 25 and 26. In such a situation, if there is a strike on January 27, banks will remain closed for the third consecutive day. It is noteworthy that under the current rules, bank employees get leave only on the second and fourth Saturday of every month except Sunday, but now they are demanding leave on all Saturdays.

Employees are angry with the government’s silence despite the salary agreement, bank employees are ready to work 40 minutes more every day

This demand is not new, but has been pending for a long time. During the wage revision agreement signed in March 2024, there was an in-principle agreement between the Indian Banks Association (IBA) and UFBU that the remaining two Saturdays would also be declared holidays. Bank unions say that it is unfortunate that the government is not responding to their legitimate demand. The unions have also made it clear that there will be no loss of man-hours due to the implementation of the 5-day week, as employees have already agreed to work 40 minutes extra every day from Monday to Friday.

They are asking for facilities on the lines of RBI and LIC, citing stock market and holidays in government offices.

To strengthen their demand, the unions have argued that many major financial institutions and government bodies of the country are already working 5 days a week. These include institutions like Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and General Insurance Corporation (GIC). Apart from this, foreign exchange market, money market and stock exchange also remain closed on Saturday. Even central and state government offices do not function on Saturdays. UFBU says that when all these institutions can run on 5-day working pattern, there is no good reason for banks not to implement the same. On this basis, a strike has been called across India on 27th January.