India’s banking services are primed for a major disruption later this month. The apex body representing nine major bank unions, the United Forum of Bank Unions, issued a national strike declaration on Tuesday, 27 January 2026. At the heart of this unrest is the long-pending demand for a five-day work week, which the UFBU found itself powerless to act on despite previous agreements. If the strike becomes a reality, the public sector banking system would be paralyzed there for the next three days as January 25 (Sunday) and January 26 (Republic Day) are already scheduled holidays.
Why Are Bank Employees Striking?
The underlying problem is the wage revision agreement dated March 2024 between Indian Banks' Association (IBA) and employee unions. In that deal, both sides agreed to make all Saturdays holidays, essentially a five-day week. Bank staff, however, argue that although they may have honourably fulfilled their part of the deal – such as agreeing to work 40 more minutes a day (Monday–Friday), to make up for the lost hours – so far, the Central Government had not given the final notification needed to make the shift.
“Regrettably, the government remains reluctant to act on the advice given by the IBA. There is no reason why banks should not implement a 5-day week when the RBI, LIC, and other central government offices have already initiated this model," said one circular on the subject from the All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC).
The "5-Day Banking" Argument
Unions have put on a large-scale digital and ground-level campaign using the hashtag #5DayBankingNow, which in the past week generated more than 18 million impressions on social media. Its arguments rest on three pillars:
Work-Life Balance: Under the pressure of a digital banking age and of government schemes, employees say a two-day weekend is necessary for mental health and productivity.
Digital Shift: According to unions, more than 99% of banking transactions now happen by UPI, mobile banking, and ATMs, so that closing a physical branch on Saturdays will not impact on modern day consumer convenience.
Industry Parity: Both regulatory agencies and financial giants are already on a five-day timeline like RBI, LIC and GIC. On Saturdays markets like the Stock Exchange and Forex markets are closed as well.
Expected Impact on Customers
While digital channels (UPI, IMPS, Net Banking) will still work, the following services will probably take a hit between January 25 and January 27.
- Physical Branch Visits: 3 days of no over-the-counter service.
- Cheque Clearing: The large amount of customers will be cleared from cash in the CTS (Cheque Truncation System) will also happen.
- Cash: The availability of cash may prove slow in some regions of ATM restocking.
- Loan Processing: Administrative delays and backend approvals will be stopped in their tracks.
The Road Ahead
The strike of January 27 is only the start, the UFBU has stated. If the government doesn’t give approval before the end of the month, the unions threatened to escalate their agitation with an indefinite strike starting in February. For now, the Finance Ministry is the key player to work on whether a last-minute solution may be able to save the shutdown.
