Bhubaneswar: Banking services were affected across Odisha on Friday as employees and officers of public sector banks joined a nationwide strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), demanding the implementation of a five-day workweek and resolution of several pending wage and pension-related issues.

The strike disrupted operations at several branches of public sector banks across the state, with many branches remaining closed or operating with limited staff. Customers faced difficulties in accessing services such as cash deposits and withdrawals, cheque clearance and other branch-level administrative work.

The UFBU, an umbrella body of seven bank unions representing around 90 per cent of bank officers and employees, has called the strike across the country. Private sector banks were largely unaffected by the agitation.

The unions are primarily demanding that all Saturdays be declared holidays for bank employees. The demand was reportedly agreed upon in the 12th Bipartite Settlement signed between the unions and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) in March 2024. However, the agreement is yet to be formally notified by the government.

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

Apart from the five-day workweek, the unions have also raised several pending issues concerning pensioners and employees. These include the updation and improvement of pensions, implementation of a uniform dearness allowance formula for all pensioners, and allowing employees covered under the National Pension System (NPS) to opt for the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).

Despite the strike affecting physical banking operations, customers continued to have access to digital services. UPI transactions, internet banking and other online banking facilities remained operational.