Bank employees and officers across several Indian cities have intensified their demand for a five-day banking week, with fresh demonstrations and a warning that they could move to an indefinite strike if the government does not act.
Protests were held in Shivamogga, Nizamabad and Jammu under the banner of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), the umbrella body that has been pressing the Centre and the Indian Banks’ Association to approve the reduced working week. In Nizamabad, employees and officers from both public and private-sector banks gathered at Dharna Chowk, describing the demand as long-pending, according to reports.
The latest agitation follows the nationwide bank strike observed on 27 January 2026 over the same issue. Protesters said they could consider an indefinite strike if the matter remains unresolved.
The five-day week has been a recurring point in bank wage negotiations. A two-day working week off (all Saturdays and Sundays) has been part of UFBU’s charter for successive bipartite settlement rounds, alongside pay revision and adequate recruitment. Public-sector banks currently work on the first, third and fifth Saturdays of the month, with the second and fourth Saturdays off.
The stir also lands against a backdrop of pending recruitment and workload complaints across public-sector banks, where unions have repeatedly linked staff shortages to longer working hours and customer-service pressure.
