India, Sept. 11 -- Banking services were affected across Odisha on Friday as employees and officers of public sector banks joined a nationwide strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), demanding the implementation of a five-day workweek and resolution of several pending wage and pension-related issues.

The strike disrupted operations at several branches of public sector banks across the state, with many branches remaining closed or operating with limited staff. Customers faced difficulties in accessing services such as cash deposits and withdrawals, cheque clearance and other branch-level administrative work.

The UFBU, an umbrella body of seven bank unions representing around 90 per cent of bank officers and employees, h...