Banking operations to be hit on Tues as unions go on strike seeking 5-day work week
New Delhi (PTI): Banking operations of public sector banks across the country are likely to be impacted on Tuesday with the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) deciding to go ahead with a nationwide strike on January 27 to press for the immediate implementation of a five-day work week.
The strike call by the UFBU, an umbrella body of nine unions representing officers and employees, comes after a conciliation meeting on January 23 with the chief labour commissioner failed to yield a positive outcome.
With banks remaining closed on January 25 (Sun) and January 26 (Republic Day), the strike on Tuesday will result in a disruption of branch-level services for three consecutive days.
"Despite detailed discussions during the conciliation proceedings, there was no assurance on our demand. Hence, we have been compelled to proceed with the strike action," All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), a constituent of UFBU, General Secretary C H Venkatachalam told PTI.
All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC) General Secretary Rupam Roy said the decision to declare all Saturdays as holidays was agreed between the Indian Banks' Association and UFBU during the wage revision settlement in March 2024.
"It is unfortunate that the government is not responding to our genuine demand. There would be no loss of man-hours as we have agreed to work an extra 40 minutes daily from Monday to Friday," he said.
According to another UFBU constituent National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE) General Secretary L Chandrasekhar said, "This movement is not against customers, but for a sustainable, humane, and efficient banking system. A rested banker serves the nation better. A balanced workforce strengthens financial stability. 5-Day banking is not a luxury; it is an economic and human necessity."
Services such as cash deposits, withdrawals, cheque clearances, and administrative work are expected to be hit at branches of public sector banks (PSBs), including State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), and Bank of Baroda.
However, operations at major private sector lenders like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank are expected to remain largely unaffected as their employees are not part of the unions that will be going on strike.
Digital banking services, including UPI and internet banking, will continue to function, though ATM cash availability could face localised issues due to logistical delays.
Several public sector lenders, including banking giant SBI have informed stock exchanges about the potential impact.
"We advise that while the bank has made necessary arrangements to ensure normal functioning in its branches and offices on the day of strike, it is likely that work in the bank may be impacted by the strike," SBI said in a regulatory filing on Friday.
The unions are demanding the declaration of all Saturdays as holidays, a key point that was reportedly agreed upon during the 12th Bipartite Settlement signed with the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) in March 2024 but is awaiting government notification.
Currently, banks remain open on the first, third, and fifth Saturdays of every month.
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Texas halts H-1B visas at state universities, agencies; to affect Indians
Houston (US) (PTI): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies and public universities to immediately halt new H-1B visa petitions, tightening hiring rules at taxpayer-funded institutions, a step likely to impact Indian professionals.
The freeze will remain in effect through May 2027.
The directive issued on Tuesday said that the state agencies and public universities must stop filing new petitions unless they receive written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The governor's order, in a red state that is home to thousands of H-1B visa holders, comes as the Trump administration has initiated steps to reshape the visa programme.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa programme, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that programme to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions as outlined in this letter,” Abbot said.
Institutions must also report on H-1B usage, including numbers, job roles, countries of origin, and visa expiry dates, the letter said.
US President Donald Trump on September 19 last year signed a proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’ that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 1,00,000.
The H1-B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, i.e. all new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery.
Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5,505 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon (10,044 workers on H-1B visas), according to the USCIS. Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
Texas public universities employ hundreds of foreign faculty and researchers, many from India, across engineering, healthcare, and technology fields.
Date from Open Doors -- a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US -- for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.
Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.
Analysts warn the freeze could slow recruitment of highly skilled professionals, affecting academic research and innovation.
Supporters say the directive protects local jobs, while critics caution it could weaken Texas’ competitiveness in higher education and research.
The order comes amid broader debate in the US over skilled immigration and state-level interventions in federal programmes.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire technically-skilled professionals that are not easily available in America. Initially granted for three years, these can be extended for another three years.
In September 2025, Trump had also signed an executive order ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for those committed to supporting the United States; with individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, to get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card.
