Bank employees have been demanding for a long time to declare 5 working days. Bank staff currently are working on alternating Saturdays, which has caused considerable confusion among consumers who need to know if it is a working Saturday. Bank unions have long advocated for a five-day work week. Demand has increased since LIC approved a five-day week proposal ahead of its IPO. The demand for a 5-day work week first came after the policy was implemented in the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, in May 2021.
The demand of bank employees’ is not unreasonable because Central Government and most State Government offices work only five days. Forget Central & State Governments, Our regulator, the Reserve Bank of India works only 5 days a week. LIC is also working 5 days only. At the time of deciding 2 Saturdays off in 2015, there was an understanding that the outcome of 2 Saturdays off shall be analyzed and a decision to have 5 days banking will be taken in the next bipartite settlement.
According to bankers, mobile banking, ATMs, and online banking have become the key means for customers to access their bank accounts over the years. However, a subset of customers remained reliant on bank branches. Banks are increasingly transferring clients to self-service by installing cash deposit machines and passbook printing devices. A five-day working week at banks may still be some time away. While an in-principle agreement has been reached between the Indian Banks’ Association and public sector bank unions, a broader consensus will have to be reached with private sector banks and cooperative banks before this can be implemented.
At present, bank employees get off on Sundays, and second and fourth Saturdays. They also get holidays on festivals, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) prepares the holiday list. Online services, however, remain functional on holidays as well. Further, with the advancement of technology, most of the transactions can be processed without physically visiting branches. Since 2015, the banks have developed various alternative delivery channels for delivery of various services and most of the services like, fund transfers, bank statements, cheque book requests, loan applications, cash withdrawal, transaction enquiry, account opening, life certificates etc. are available online without human intervention.
Negotiations between the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and the United Forum of Bank Employees have made significant progress towards implementing a five-day work week for banks. The IBA has agreed, in principle, to this proposal in exchange for longer work hours. According to the circular issued by the All India Bank Employees Association near the Indian Banks’ Association, the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) is considering the demand of five days working in banks of bank unions. But, instead of this, the total working hours will have to be increased by 40 minutes per day.
If this proposal is implemented without further delay, it would provide much-needed relief to bank employees who have been working six days a week for several years. The change in the workweek would also bring banks in line with other industries that already operate on a five-day workweek. It would also allow bank employees to spend more time with their families and pursue other interests outside of work.
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