Thousands of public sector bank employees and officers in Telangana took part in a one-day strike on Tuesday. The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) called the strike to push for a five-day work week. Although bank branches stayed open, most staff except a few senior supervisors joined the protest, making branch services hard to access. Bank customers rely on branches for deposits, withdrawals, cheque processing, and loan information. Veteran leader of Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) P. Venkataramaiah said the strike was "total" with strong participation from regional rural banks too. BEFI is one of nine unions in UFBU. In Hyderabad and other cities, bank workers gathered to urge the government to honor a years-old UFBU demand. The Indian Banks’ Association had agreed to give all Saturdays off, but so far only the second and fourth Saturdays are holidays. Customers faced no branch banking for four days since banks were already closed January 24 (fourth Saturday), January 25 (Sunday), and January 26 (Republic Day holiday). The strike added one more day without branch-level banking services. This disruption highlights the ongoing tension between bank staff demands and service for customers in the evolving banking landscape.