Bank staff across Gujarat to join national strike, physical services to take a backseat today

Have you ever seen a long queue outside a bank only to find the shutter half-down and no staff inside? On July 9, Gujarat may see such scenes repeat across cities and towns as thousands of banking employees step away from their counters and join the Bharat Bandh called by trade unions.

The day-long strike is expected to interrupt cash-based transactions and slow cheque processing, but most online services will remain active.

Bank Unions Step Out, Counters Close In

A joint forum of ten central trade unions and farmer organisations has announced a nationwide industrial strike on July 9, 2025. Banking workers across public sector banks and a few private lenders in Gujarat have extended support.

According to a report by the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), nearly 20,000 staff members across the state will participate in this strike. The decision aligns with protests against privatisation, new labour codes, and rising service charges in banking.

The Times of India (July 8 edition) reported that nearly 3,678 nationalised bank branches in Gujarat, excluding the State Bank of India (SBI), will be directly impacted.

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Other private players, such as Federal Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, and IDBI Bank, have joined the protest, too. Transactions worth ₹15,000 crore may remain stuck, per the Gujarat Banking Coordination Committee’s internal note shared with the regional offices yesterday.

Services Likely to Be Affected

Service Type	Expected Status on July 9	Area of Impact
Cash Withdrawals	Disrupted	Branches
Cheque Clearance	Delayed	Regional & Urban Banks
Customer Service	Unavailable	Account Opening, Loans, KYC
ATMs / Net Banking	Operational	Not impacted

The most significant impact is expected on over-the-counter transactions. Bank officials have clarified that branches will sometimes remain physically open, but with skeletal staff. Customer walk-ins are being discouraged.

The usual daily average of cheque clearances in Gujarat stands close to ₹3,800 crore, based on the March 2025 data from the Reserve Bank of India’s Clearing House Reports.

Why Are Banking Employees on Strike?

Trade unions and bank federations have raised several long-standing concerns. Some of their demands include:

Stop Bank Privatisation
Filling Vacant Posts in PSBs
Recovery from Corporate NPAs
Removal of GST on Insurance Products
Abolishing Minimum Balance Penalties

The unions claim that aggressive policy shifts have weakened banking as a public utility. In Gujarat alone, over 9% of sanctioned posts in PSBs remain vacant, according to the 2024-25 staffing report by the Department of Financial Services. The same report flagged a drop in direct customer interaction due to excessive dependency on digital modes.

So, what do digital users need to worry about? Not much and that’s where the silver lining lies.

What Will Still Work?

Platform	Service Status	Comments
ATMs	Active	Cash loading completed on July 8
UPI & Net Banking	Functional	Slower query resolution possible
Mobile Banking	Available	No planned downtime announced
GIFT-IFSC IBU Units	Normal	Not covered under local strike

According to a circular issued by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) on January 17, 2025, banking holidays under IFSC units follow RBI guidelines, not state-wise strikes. This means that international banking units in GIFT City will continue without disturbance.

Further, major banks had completed ATM refills by Tuesday evening and sent advisories to customers urging digital transactions. In rural parts of Gujarat, Business Correspondents have been told to stay active to handle small withdrawals, especially where mobile network access is limited.

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How Customers Should Prepare?

Before closing their shutters on the evening of July 8, many banks put up public notices advising customers to complete time-sensitive tasks. Those requiring urgent cheque clearance or in-person account updates are asked to return the next working day.

Customers in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, and Vadodara, the top three districts with the highest footfalls, may feel the disruption more than others. Here's how the numbers looked per the 2024 State Banking Review Report.

City	No. of Impacted Branches	Daily Average Transactions
Ahmedabad	740	₹2,200 crore
Rajkot	412	₹980 crore
Vadodara	498	₹1,400 crore

The Union Ministry of Labour had received a pre-strike notice from bank federations on June 24. Talks with officials remained inconclusive, and no deferral was announced.

Conclusion

Most reports today have focused on public inconvenience or economic impact. But one issue still goes unnoticed: staff burnout. The 2025 workforce report presented to Parliament's Finance Committee in April showed that Gujarat’s public banks have 13% fewer staff than approved. This gap has caused longer work hours and more mistakes in face-to-face service.

Customers may also face delays in complaint handling this week. Regional complaint centers and nodal officers usually work with central support teams, many of whom joined today’s strike. These delays should ease by early next week.

Gujarat’s banking system, already dealing with fewer staff and high walk-in numbers, will feel more pressure today. While the strike lasts only a day, its effects will carry through the week for customers who rely on in-branch help. Anyone with major financial plans should wait until July 10, when full services are likely to return.

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