Trade and industry are staring at major disruption as banks are set to remain shut for five consecutive days, with employee unions calling a three-day nationwide strike immediately after the weekend.
Banks will remain closed on September 26 and 27 on account of the fourth Saturday and Sunday. It will be followed by a three-day strike from September 28 to 30 called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU).
Opposing the proposed strike, World MSME Forum president Badish Jindal described it as an attempt to pressure the government into implementing a five-day banking week despite the country’s continued dependence on physical branch banking.
“Such strikes are not merely a dispute between employees and management. They directly affect millions of businesses, traders, manufacturers, exporters, workers and consumers across the country. Bank strikes are fundamentally anti-trade and anti-industry, and it is the duty of the Central Government to ensure that essential financial services are not affected due to such disruptions,” he said.
Local businessmen said routine banking operations would remain severely affected during the five-day period.
Chartered accountant Kailash Sehgal said the timing of the strike could not have been worse as several taxpayers are yet to file their income tax returns before the September 30 deadline.
“Many taxpayers are in the final stages of filing their returns. The strike is bound to create difficulties and delays,” he said.
The Ministry of Finance has issued an advisory to ensure that banking services remain available to the public despite the proposed three-day nationwide strike by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) from September 28 to 30, 2026.
As the strike follows the weekend holidays of September 26 and 27, the government has directed all public sector banks and regional rural banks to function normally on Sunday, September 27, so that the public does not face prolonged disruption.
The Reserve Bank of India has approved the opening of all bank branches, offices, ATM-linked branches and Currency Chests on September 27.
The ministry said the welfare and convenience of customers remained its foremost priority. It added that both government and bank managements had urged unions to defer the strike while contingency measures had been put in place to ensure uninterrupted delivery of essential banking services.
SBI issues advisory
The State Bank of India (SBI) has advised customers to complete important banking transactions well in advance of the proposed UFBU strike from September 28 to 30.
While assuring customers that efforts were being made to maintain essential services during the strike period, the SBI urged them to use ATMs and cash deposit machines for cash requirements and make greater use of Customer Service Points (CSPs), internet banking, YONO, mobile banking, UPI and other digital channels.
Meanwhile, the World MSME Forum has called upon the Centre to take urgent steps to protect economic activity,…
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