To mitigate concerns over lost productivity, the unions have offered to increase daily working hours by 40 minutes from Monday to Friday.

UFBU Confirms Nationwide Bank Strike on Jan 27: Services Likely to be Impacted 

Banking operations across the country are set to face major disruptions as employees prepare for a nationwide strike on January 27. Organised by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), the strike aims to pressurise the government to approve a long-pending demand for a five-day work week.

If the strike proceeds, public sector banks will effectively remain closed for three consecutive days, as January 25 and 26 are already scheduled holidays. 

The decision to proceed with the January 27 strike follows the failure of two-day conciliation talks hosted by the Chief Labour Commissioner on Wednesday and Thursday. 

According to a statement from the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which represents nine major officer and employee unions, the discussions yielded no positive outcome despite the participation of senior officials from the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance.

The UFBU noted that while the IBA agreed to the five-day model during wage settlements in March 2024, government approval is still awaited. To mitigate concerns over lost productivity, the unions have offered to increase daily working hours by 40 minutes from Monday to Friday. 

The forum argued that there is "no justification" for further delay, pointing out that the RBI, LIC, and various government offices already operate on a five-day schedule. Most public sector banks have already begun notifying customers of the potential service interruptions.

Source: The Tribune