Bank Employees Plan Nationwide Strike On January 27 Over 5-Day Work Week Demand

Bank Employee Strike News: Bank employees’ unions, under the umbrella of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), have announced a nationwide strike on January 27, 2026, with a long-standing demand for

a five-day banking week.

In a circular issued on January 4, the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) said the strike call comes after what it described as a lack of response from the government on a demand that was already agreed upon during the wage revision settlement signed in March 2024 between the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and bank unions.

“Hence it has been decided to give the call for All India Strike in all the Banks on 27th January, 2026. March on and make the strike a success,” stated in the AIBOC circular.

What Is The Demand?

The unions are seeking the introduction of a five-day work week for banks, with Saturdays off, similar to several other financial and government institutions. As of now, bank employees get off only on second and fourth Saturdays.

According to the unions, the remaining two Saturdays were to be declared holidays as part of the earlier settlement, but the decision is yet to be implemented.

UFBU said bank employees have already shown flexibility by agreeing to work an additional 40 minutes per day from Monday to Friday to ensure there is no loss of man-hours. The unions argue that institutions such as the RBI, LIC, GIC, stock exchanges, money markets, and even central and state government offices already follow a five-day work schedule.

Campaign And Protests So Far

The unions have been running demonstrations across the country and recently carried out a social media campaign on X (formerly Twitter) to push their demand. According to AIBOC, the campaign received over 18.8 lakh impressions and more than 3 lakh posts, which unions termed a “commendable success”.

Despite this, the government has not moved forward on the implementation, prompting the decision to escalate the agitation.

Impact On Customers

If the strike goes ahead, banking services across public and private sector banks could be affected on Tuesday, January 27. It will include branch operations, cheque clearances, cash transactions, and customer services, though online and ATM services may continue to function with limited impact.