Bank strike on September 28, 29 and 30: As Finance Ministry appeals bank employees to refrain from strike, will three-day strike go on?

The Finance Ministry in a statement dated September 21, 2026, has urged bank employees to refrain from resorting to the three-day bank strike on September 28, 29 and 30, called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) and its associated unions.

At the same time, the Department of Financial Service (DFS), Ministry of Finance, has also urged the Home Ministry to issue advisories to all its states and Union Territories to provide adequate security cover during the three-day strike.

Amid such advisories, will the three-day bank strike continue on September 28, 29 and 30?

As of writing this report, the three-day nationwide bank strike called by the UFBU and its associated unions of the banking industry continues to be held on the scheduled dates of September 28, 29 and 30, 2026.


In fact, today (Tuesday, September 22, 2026), the UFBU and the All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) have called for a badge wearing ceremony, where they are demanding a five-day work week for all bank employees.


The scheduled strike is for three days, but Saturday (September 26) and Sunday (September 27) are also holidays, so banks may effectively be closed for five days if the strike goes on.

What Ministry of Finance has suggested to bank employees

In a release dated September 21, 2026, the Ministry of Finance said that bank employees are urged to refrain from resorting to strikes, work towards resolving issues through dialogue, and ensure that banking services remain uninterrupted.

The Ministry also said that most concerns of the Unions have been substantially addressed, the remaining demand continues to be examined, and the government continues to proactively introduce welfare measures for the banking workforce.

SBI shares Ministry of Finance’s advice with employees

State Bank of India (SBI) has also shared the Ministry of Finance's advice with its employees, urging them to refrain from participating in the strike.

In a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), Canara Bank has stated that banking transactions may be impacted during the three-day bank strike.

Canara Bank said, “Banking operations at branches may be impacted on September 28, 29 and 30, 2026, due to the proposed nationwide bank strike. Customers are requested to plan their transactions in advance and use alternate banking channels during these days.”

DFS urged Home Ministry to provide adequate security cover during bank strike

Secretary, DFS, said that it had chaired a meeting of the Crisis Management Group on September 18 and with the heads of public sector banks, regional rural banks and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) on September 21, to review preparations for the proposed strike.

The DFS said that it has requested the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to issue suitable advisories to all states and UTs, sensitising their law enforcement agencies to-

(i) Provide adequate security cover, especially to banks’ critical infrastructure like currency chests, cheque clearing processing centres, data centres, data recovery centres, treasury operations, IT cell/centre, cyber security cell, automated teller machines (ATMs), etc.;

(ii) Maintain law and order around bank branches and offices; and

(iii) Ensure safety and security of employees who are not participating in the strike and attending office.

What bank customers can do during three-day strike

Bank customers should therefore check with their respective banks about branch-level operations during these three days and use digital banking facilities wherever possible for routine transactions.