Mumbai: Banking services across several parts of India are expected to be hit today, January 27, as public sector bank employees have gone ahead with a nationwide strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU). The strike has been organised to press for long-pending demands, including the introduction of a five-day work week in the banking sector.
The UFBU, which represents nine major unions of bank officers and employees, decided to proceed with the strike after talks with the Chief Labour Commissioner failed to reach a settlement. Despite conciliation meetings held earlier this month, no breakthrough was achieved, prompting unions to stick to their strike call.
As a result, major public sector banks are closed today, affecting routine banking operations. Customers of State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and Union Bank are likely to face inconvenience. Services such as cash deposits, cash withdrawals, cheque clearing, branch-based transactions and other in-person banking facilities are disrupted.
This disruption comes immediately after a long holiday stretch for banks, which remained shut on January 24 and 25 due to the second Saturday and Sunday, followed by Republic Day on January 26. With today’s strike, customers have effectively faced multiple consecutive days of limited access to public sector banking services.
Some banks have informed stock exchanges that while contingency arrangements were planned, the strike may still impact branch-level functioning. Digital services such as internet banking, mobile banking apps and ATM withdrawals may continue to work, but delays cannot be ruled out in certain areas.
Which Banks Are Closed Today:
State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Union Bank and other public sector banks.
Which Banks Are Open Today:
Private sector banks including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and IDFC First Bank are functioning as usual, with no strike impact reported.
