# Banks to open Sunday ahead of three-day nationwide strike 2026-09-23T09:53:13+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 5 independent outlets All public sector banks and regional rural banks will remain open this Sunday, September 27, the finance ministry announced, ahead of a three-day nationwide strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions from September 28 to 30. The Reserve Bank of India has approved the Sunday opening of branches, offices, ATM-linked branches and currency chests, PTI reports via news.abplive.com. The extra working day follows weekend holidays on September 26 and 27, which would otherwise have led to five consecutive days of disrupted physical banking services. The UFBU, which claims to represent 90% of the banking workforce, is striking primarily for a five-day banking week, along with pension revisions and an option for NPS-covered employees to switch to the old pension scheme, The Hindu reports. The strike coincides with banks' half-yearly closing on September 30, a key date for reconciliation, provisioning and treasury operations, Deccan Herald reports. Several banks including PNB, SBI and Bank of India have sent SMS alerts advising customers to complete branch-dependent work by September 25 and use digital channels such as ATMs, UPI and mobile banking during the strike, Times Now reports. The government and bank managements have appealed to unions to defer the strike. ## Indian Opinion Analysis All six sources reported the government's Sunday opening as a straight factual announcement, with no outlet adopting a pro-government or critical stance. The coverage is uniform straight reporting drawn from the finance ministry statement and the PIB release, focusing on customer impact: the extra working day, the union demands and the advisory to use digital channels. The half-yearly closing on September 30 gives the strike added financial significance. Whether the UFBU proceeds with the action will be known after the government's appeal for deferral, with the Sunday opening already providing a cushion for customers. ## Coverage - livemint.com (neutral report) Leads with a practical customer question, restates the finance ministry statement factually - news.abplive.com (neutral report) Follows PTI wire copy, no slant beyond the customer-focus framing - indiatvnews.com (neutral report) Brief factual summary of the finance ministry statement without added analysis - deccanherald.com (neutral report) Standard news agency style, attributes all claims to the ministry and UFBU - timesnownews.com (neutral report) Opens with a PIB release quote, straightforward customer advisory tone - timesnownews.com (neutral report) Opens with a PIB release quote, straightforward customer advisory tone Tags: Finance Ministry, National Pension System, public sector banks, Reserve Bank of India, United Forum of Bank Unions Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/banks-open-on-sunday-ahead-of-three-day-strike-from-september-28/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/banks-open-on-sunday-ahead-of-three-day-strike-from-september-28/#story-in-brief