New Delhi: Banking operations at public sector banks across the country are likely to be disrupted on Tuesday as the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) goes ahead with its nationwide strike demanding a five-day work week. 

The decision to strike was taken after a conciliation meeting with the Chief Labour Commissioner on January 23 failed to resolve the issue.

The UFBU is a joint platform of nine unions representing officers and employees of public sector banks.

The timing of the strike could cause inconvenience to customers, as banks are already closed on Sunday (January 25) and Monday (January 26), due to Republic Day.

This means many branch-level services may remain unavailable for three consecutive days.

Services such as cash deposits and withdrawals, cheque clearances and other routine administrative work are likely to be affected at public sector banks, including the State Bank of India (SBI), the Punjab National Bank (PNB), and the Bank of Baroda.

However, private sector banks such as the HDFC Bank, the ICICI Bank, and the Axis Bank are expected to function normally, since their employees are not part of the unions participating in the strike.

Digital banking services like UPI payments and internet banking are expected to continue without major issues.

Still, there could be some local disruptions in ATM cash availability due to operational challenges.

Several public sector banks have already informed stock exchanges about the possible impact of the strike.

In a regulatory filing, the SBI said that while arrangements have been made to maintain normal operations, banking work may still be affected because of employee participation in the strike.

The main demand of the unions is the declaration of all Saturdays as holidays.

This proposal was included in the 12th Bipartite Settlement signed with the Indian Banks’ Association in March 2024, but it has yet to receive formal notification from the government.

At present, banks remain open on the first, third, and fifth Saturdays of every month.