Bank Strike March 2025 Update: Are Banks Closed Today On March 24?

The nationwide bank strike planned by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on March 24-25 has been indefinitely postponed. The strike, called to demand a five-day workweek for the banking sector and the regularization of temporary employees, was put on hold following discussions between the Chief Labour Commissioner and other stakeholders on Friday.

Why Was the Bank Strike Postponed?

UFBU, a coalition of nine bank unions, had initially announced the strike on March 13 after negotiations with the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) failed to yield a resolution. However, after further deliberations, the strike was postponed, leaving many customers wondering about bank operations.

Are Banks Open on March 24?

Yes, banks across India will function as usual today, Monday, March 24. Since the strike has been called off, all banking services will remain uninterrupted. Additionally, there is no scheduled bank holiday today under the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) negotiable instruments act.

Bank Holiday in March 2025

Banks will remain closed on March 31 in observance of Ramzan-Id (Id-Ul-Fitr) in several cities, including:

• Agartala, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Dehradun, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jaipur, Jammu, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi, Panaji, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi, Shillong, Srinagar, and Thiruvananthapuram.

Key Demands Behind the Strike

Despite the postponement, UFBU continues to push for critical reforms, as outlined by L Chandrasekhar, General Secretary of the National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE):

• Five-Day Workweek: Demand for an official five-day workweek in the banking sector.
• Staff Shortages: Immediate recruitment to ease the workload on existing employees.
• Board Representation: Appointment of workmen and officer directors in public sector banks.
• Job Security Concerns: Rollback of performance-linked incentives and reviews introduced by the Ministry of Finance's Department of Financial Services (DFS), which unions argue undermine job stability.
• Bank Autonomy: Opposition to excessive intervention by the DFS, which unions claim affects the independence of bank boards.
• Gratuity Reforms: Raising the gratuity ceiling to ₹25 lakh, aligning it with government employees' benefits, and demanding tax exemption on gratuity payments.

Although the strike has been postponed, UFBU continues to negotiate with the IBA to address these pressing issues.