Government Urges PSB and RRB Staff to Call Off Bank Strikes

The Ministry of Finance on 21 September 2026 appealed to employees of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) not to go on strike, so that banking services stay uninterrupted. The appeal came after the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) and some other unions announced a series of strikes.

What the unions want

The unions had two main demands:

• Five-day banking, that is, a five-day working week for banks.
• Withdrawal of the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

The Government says it has already met the second demand by keeping the PLI scheme in abeyance, and that the strikes are now about the single demand of a five-day week, which is still being examined.

The strike calendar

The Ministry pointed out that 30 September is the half-yearly closing of banks, important for reconciliation, provisioning and treasury operations. Together with the weekend before it, the three-day strike would shut banking services for an effective five days.

Welfare steps the Government has listed

• The Staff Welfare Fund of PSBs was raised by 56% in August 2024.
• PSBs recruited about 4,82,800 employees from FY 2014-15 to FY 2025-26, and recruitment doubled in the last three years. As of 1 July 2026, 95.84% of officer posts and 92% of subordinate/award staff posts were filled.
• Special leave for women employees, including for the menstrual period, infertility treatment, adoption of a second child and stillbirth.
• For the first time, talks on the next Bipartite Settlement (the wage agreement for bank staff) have started early, aiming to finish well before the November 2027 deadline.
• The 2nd and 4th Saturdays of every month were declared holidays for PSBs in 2015; the other Saturdays remain working days that many customers rely on.