Banks, especially government-owned institutions, are waiving ATM fees for customers during the three-day strike by bank employees from September 28 to 30 to reduce inconvenience to customers.The State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Indian Bank and several other public sector banks have announced that they will not impose charges on customers for ATM withdrawals exceeding the free transaction limits set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) during the three days.According to the existing RBI guidelines, savings account holders can make five complimentary ATM withdrawals each month at their own bank’s ATMs. At ATMs of other banks, customers are entitled to three complimentary transactions in six metropolitan centres and five in non-metropolitan areas.After the applicable free limit is exhausted, banks may levy a fee of up to Rs 23 per transaction, in addition to GST. The interchange fee for inter-bank ATM transactions is currently Rs 19 for financial transactions and Rs 7 for non-financial transactions.Banks are proceeding with the three-day strike despite appeals from the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and bank managements to postpone it.The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), along with some other unions and associations in public sector banks and regional rural banks, has announced a series of strikes to press for two main demands — the introduction of a five-day banking week and the removal of the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.Although the government has opted to suspend the PLI scheme, the demand for a five-day banking week remains unapproved. The UFBU, a federation of bank employees’ and officers’ unions, had proceeded with a one-day strike on September 11.The unions have declared an indefinite strike from October 26 if their demands are not met following the three-day strike.The three-day strike from September 28 to 30, along with the preceding weekend, is expected to result in a practical five-day disruption of banking services.