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A three-day nationwide strike has been called by bank unions over the functioning of government and rural banks across the country. Due to this strike called under the banner of United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), normal functioning in the branches of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) is expected to be completely affected. The bank employees’ organizations are on strike mainly over ‘5-day banking week’ (5 days of work a week and every Saturday as holiday), old pension scheme and other pending demands related to workload. Due to this strike taking place at the time of financial closing in the last days of the month, the important financial work of the general public, businessmen and salaried people may get stuck. In such a situation, it is very important for the customers to know which services will remain completely closed during the strike and which digital options will remain operational smoothly.
The strike will have the deepest impact on those operations of bank branches that require physical presence of employees and manual verification:
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Cash Deposit and Withdrawal from Branch Counter: The facility of withdrawing cash through check or withdrawal slip and depositing money at the cash counter will not be available by visiting the bank branch.
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Check Clearing and Processing: Due to halt in check processing at clearing house and branch level, it may take additional time of 3 to 4 days for the check to be cleared.
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Demand Draft (DD) and Banker’s Cheque: The process of making new DDs, canceling them or issuing pay orders will stop due to the closure of the counter.
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KYC and Account Updation: Re-KYC in bank account, changing mobile number, signature verification or opening a new account will not be possible in the branch.
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Bank Locker Access: Since the main gates of branches will be closed or with limited staff, customers will not be able to operate their safe deposit lockers.
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Loan Disbursal and Document Verification: The process of physical document verification and release of loan amount for home loan, auto loan or personal loan may get delayed.
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Passbook Printing: Work at passbook printing counters located inside the branch will remain closed.
The strike is limited only to in-person i.e. physical functioning of bank branches. All automated and digital channels of banking will continue to function normally:
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UPI Payments: All digital payment systems like Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm and BHIM UPI will continue to operate without any interruption, allowing merchant payments and peer-to-peer transfers.
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ATM and Cash Recycler Machines (ADWM): Cash withdrawal facility from ATM will continue. However, considering the possibility of running out of cash due to heavy crowd, it is advisable to arrange cash well in time. Cash can also be deposited into the account through automated deposit machines.
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Internet and Mobile Banking: Online fund transfers, credit card bill payments and utility bill payments through NEFT, RTGS and IMPS will continue to run smoothly.
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Credit and Debit Card Swipe: Card transactions at POS machines and online e-commerce shopping will work as normal.
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Customer Service Center (CSP / Banking Correspondents): Basic cash transaction services will be available at BC Points and CSP centers in towns and rural areas.
This strike will have a direct impact on big public sector banks like State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of Baroda (BOB), Canara Bank, Union Bank of India and rural banks.
At the same time, branches of major private sector banks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank will generally remain open. However, if you have an account with a private bank and you need to clear a check from a public sector bank, the check clearance may be delayed due to disruption in the inter-bank clearing system.
According to the current rules, banks in the country have a holiday on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, while normal functioning occurs on the first, third and fifth Saturdays. Bank unions have been demanding for a long time that the Central Government and the Indian Banks Association (IBA) should declare every Saturday as a holiday and implement a 5-day banking week. The unions propose that in lieu of Saturday off, bank employees are willing to work an extra 40 minutes a day from Monday to Friday, with no impact on total working hours and productivity. Due to lack of final agreement on the agreement, the unions have chosen the path of strike.
Bank management and financial institutions have appealed to the customers to check the official notifications and SMS alerts of their respective banks before visiting the branch and to use only digital platforms for cash and essential transfers.