Banks to stay open on Sunday before three-day union strike

All banks and regional rural banks will stay open on Sunday to help customers handle their money needs before a major three-day bank strike. The United Forum of Bank Unions, which says it speaks for ninety percent of bank workers, plans to strike from September twenty-eighth to September thirtieth, 2026. This strike follows the regular weekend holidays on September twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh. The finance ministry announced that public sector banks and regional rural banks will work normally on Sunday, September twenty-seventh, 2026. The Reserve Bank of India gave approval for all bank branches, offices, ATM-link branches, and currency chests to stay fully open on that day. The Department of Financial Services under the ministry of finance stated that customer convenience is the top priority. The government and bank managements asked the unions to call off the strike. The strike dates also match up with the half-yearly closing of the banking sector on September thirtieth, which is a busy time for reconciliation, provisioning, and treasury and market operations. Besides asking for a five-day banking week, the union wants better pensions, a single dearness allowance formula for all pensioners, and an option for workers under the National Pension System to move to the old pension scheme. Many public sector banks are telling customers to use digital options like mobile banking, ATMs, internet banking, BC points, and UPI, or to finish important bank work early.