Bank strike on September 11: Will your services be impacted? What customers in Maharashtra need to know

With a proposed nationwide bank strike on Friday September 11 physical banking services at public sector banks and some private sector banks are likely to be affectedCustomers in Mumbai and Maharashtra may face a fourday disruption with mobile and net banking expected to remain available for many transactionsBanks in Maharashtra will also remain closed on September 14 for Ganesh ChaturthiBanks part of the strikeKarnataka BankCSB Bank formerly Catholic Syrian BankFederal BankRBL Bank formerly Ratnakar BankSouth Indian BankJammu amp Kashmir BankDhanlaxmi BankBanks not on strikeICICI BankAxis BankHDFC BankYes BankIndusInd BankldquoOur strike stands on the 11th All public sector banks oldgeneration private sector banks and regional rural banks would observe the strike ldquo S Nagarajan General Secretary of the All India Bank Officers Association AIBOA told middaycomldquoUnions have been left with no other alternative but to resort to strike as the tolerance level has been lostrdquo he saidThe countrys largest lender State Bank of India SBI said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that it had made arrangements to ensure the normal functioning of its branches and offices during the strike However it cautioned that the banks operations could still be affectedSBI said the United Forum of Bank Unions UFBU representing its seven constituent unions and associations had served strike noticesSimilarly Bank of Baroda said in a statement on Tuesday that the UFBU comprising seven unions mdash AIBEA AIBOC NCBE AIBOA BEFI INBEF and INBOC mdash along with the Akhil Bhartiya Bank of Baroda Officerrsquos Sangathan had served notice of their decision to strike on September 11 over various demands and issuesSBI and Bank of Baroda also said the UFBU had called for further strikes mdash a threeday strike from September 28 to 30 and an indefinite strike from October 26On the inconvenience the strike could cause customers Nagarajan said ldquoWe are conscious of the constraints that the customers of the banks are to undergo We apologise for the samerdquoHe said digital payments had substantially reduced the inconvenience to customers and appealed to them to support bank employees in their demandsldquoA strike in the banking sector will certainly affect all segments of liferdquo he saidWhat should customers doCustomers can use net banking and mobile banking for several routine transactions includingChecking or downloading account statementsRequesting cheque booksTransferring funds between accountsPaying billsMaking payments through UPI appsManaging fixed deposits and recurring depositsMaking eligible retail loanrelated transactionsDepositing into or opening a Public Provident Fund PPF account where the bank offers the facility digitallyCustomers can also use ATMs for cash withdrawals although daily withdrawal limits will continue to apply Cash Deposit Machines CDMs may also be available for depositing cash into bank accountsCustomers who have payments transfers or other timesensitive banking requirements should complete them before the strike where possible rather than waiting until September 11What services might be impacted Customers who require branchbased services may face difficulties during the strike Large cash withdrawals may be restricted by ATM withdrawal limits Customers using another banks ATM may also incur charges after exceeding the applicable free transaction limit Large cash deposits may also be difficult if branch counters are unavailable Cheque clearing is likely to be affected so customers who need to make EMI payments society maintenance payments or other timesensitive payments by cheque should plan ahead to avoid delays or penaltiesOther services that could be affected includeDemand draftsCertain accountrelated requestsLoan processing and other branchbased loan servicesOverthecounter banking servicesLocker accessCertain foreign remittance and importrelated transactionsWhy is there a bank strikeThe United Forum of Bank Unions UFBU has called a nationwide strike on September 11 over several issues including the delay in implementing a fiveday banking week differences over the performancelinked incentive PLI scheme and pending pensionrelated demandsBank unions have been seeking a fiveday working week for several years An inprinciple agreement was reached as part of the wage settlement in March 2024 under which employees would work an additional 40 minutes each day from Monday to Friday in exchange for all Saturdays being declared holidays The proposal however is still awaiting government notificationThe government on Monday also kept the PLI scheme for public sector banks in abeyanceNagarajan said the government had been unwilling to resolve the fiveday banking issue through bilateral discussions with unions for nearly twoandahalf yearsldquoThe Government of India has forced the strike on us as the issues are dragging for years together even as other institutions in the financial sector are enjoying a fiveday weekrdquo he said