If you bank with a public sector lender in Maharashtra, finish any branch work by Friday, September 25. The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has called a nationwide strike for September 28, 29 and 30, and the unions went ahead with the plan after conciliation talks failed and a Finance Ministry appeal on September 21 did not change their position, Outlook Money reported. Stacked against the weekend and Gandhi Jayanti, the strike leaves branches open on only two of the nine days between September 26 and October 4.
The calendar
- Sat, Sept 26: closed (fourth Saturday)
- Sun, Sept 27: closed
- Mon, Sept 28 to Wed, Sept 30: strike
- Thu, Oct 1: open
- Fri, Oct 2: closed (Gandhi Jayanti)
- Sat, Oct 3: open (first Saturday)
- Sun, Oct 4: closed
Nagpur Today laid out the same count, warning branch customers in Nagpur and elsewhere of an unusually long break in counter services.
What the unions want
The headline demand is a five-day week: every Saturday off, with staff working longer hours Monday to Friday to make up the time. Banks already close on the second and fourth Saturdays, so the fight is over the remaining two. The unions also want the performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme withdrawn and have raised pension revision and other service issues.
The Centre says it has already moved. According to Outlook Money, the government has put the PLI scheme in abeyance after talks with the unions and has listed its record on recruitment, pay, allowances, leave for women employees and medical cover for retirees. It also objected to the timing: September 30 is the half-yearly closing date, when banks reconcile accounts and settle treasury positions. The unions have kept a bigger threat in reserve, an indefinite strike from October 26 if the demands stay unmet.
What still works, and what doesn’t
The strike covers public sector banks and regional rural banks. In Maharashtra that means State Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank, Central Bank and the other state-owned lenders, plus the rural banks in the districts. Private banks are not named in the call, so their branches should work on normal weekdays, though you should confirm with your branch.
UPI, net banking, mobile apps and ATMs should keep running, both reports say. Counter work stops: cash deposits and withdrawals at the branch, cheque clearing, demand drafts, locker access, KYC updates, loan paperwork and passbook entries.
Three groups feel this most:
- Cash-dependent households and traders. Many pensioners and small shopkeepers in smaller towns still deposit and withdraw over the counter. ATMs in rural talukas often run dry over long weekends, so withdraw what you need for the week before Friday.
- Anyone relying on a cheque. A cheque deposited on September 25 may not clear until October 1 or later. If you have rent, a school fee or an EMI due in the last days of September, pay it digitally or by NEFT/IMPS, which run round the clock.
- Businesses closing the half-year. Firms that need bank certificates, balance confirmations or guarantees issued by September 30 should ask for them this week.
What to watch
Last-minute talks can still call off a bank strike; unions have withdrawn notices on the eve of earlier strikes. Check your bank’s SMS or website on September 26 and 27. If the strike goes ahead, expect queues on October 1, the only full working day before Gandhi Jayanti, so go early or wait until the following week. The October 26 indefinite-strike notice matters more in the long run. If it holds, it would shut branches in the run-up to Diwali, when cash demand in Maharashtra’s markets peaks.
Sources: Outlook Money, Nagpur Today, Moneycontrol
This report was written with AI assistance from the publicly reported sources linked here; each fact was cross-checked against at least two of them.