IDBI Bank strike on 2 and 3 November: what customers should know

Representative image. Arunvrparavur, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

The IDBI Bank strike runs for two days, Monday and Tuesday, 2 and 3 November 2026. IDBI Bank staff are taking part to oppose the planned sale of the bank to Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings. The bank has told customers that its digital channels and ATMs will work as usual, and that cash withdrawals from other banks’ ATMs will be free for those two days, Economic Times reported.

What the IDBI Bank strike is about

The United Forum of IDBI Officers and Employees (UFIOE) issued the strike notice. It includes the All India IDBI Officers’ Association and the All India Industrial Development Bank Employees’ Association, Free Press Journal reported on 19 October. The reports describe the deal as the sale of a 60% stake held by the government and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which would also hand management control to Fairfax.

The union wants the government to call off the sale. It asks the government to buy at least 6% more of the bank, from LIC or in the market, so that it keeps at least 51%. The Hans India report said the union cites assurances given in Parliament in December 2003 that the government would keep majority ownership. The union also wants written guarantees that service conditions, welfare, pension benefits and reservation policies will be protected.

What IDBI has told customers

The bank also told customers to use internet banking, Go Mobile+, UPI and other digital channels for their everyday needs, and to take cash from other banks’ ATMs free of charge if they need it. IDBI said on X that it had received a notice of the IDBI Bank strike for 2 and 3 November and would try to keep all banking transactions normal. It asked customers to finish important transactions before the strike dates. The bank’s advice, as Economic Times quoted it, is set out below.

For IDBI Bank customers, the reports read do not say how many branches will be affected or whether any branch will close. IDBI’s own advice speaks about ATMs and digital channels, not about branch hours.

The dispute over the threats

A union letter dated 31 October, about the IDBI Bank strike, addressed to a conciliation officer in Mumbai under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, says that regional heads, zonal heads and executive directors are threatening staff with punitive action if they join the strike. The letter says members have recorded those calls as evidence, Economic Times reported. These are the union’s allegations. The reports read do not carry the bank’s reply to the letter.

The United Forum of Bank Unions, in a statement on the IDBI Bank strike, has said its members will wear badges on 2 November in support of the IDBI staff, the same report said.

Two descriptions of the same action

Reports from 19 October called the IDBI Bank strike a two-day nationwide hunger strike. Economic Times, writing on 2 November, calls it a strike. The reports read do not say whether the form of the action has changed since October, so this article uses the word each outlet used.

When talks on the IDBI Bank sale could resume

The forum issued its strike notice to the bank’s management under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, Free Press Journal reported. The reports read do not give a date for any further talks between the unions and the government on the IDBI Bank sale, or for when the sale would be completed. Our earlier report on the sale row covers the government’s own figures on the gain from the deal. The union has asked the conciliation officer to step in on the threats it describes.