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Bank unions across the country observed a one-day strike on Tuesday to press for several long-pending demands, including the implementation of a five-day working week for bank employees.
The strike was called by various bank employee unions, with leaders stating that the protest was peaceful and aimed at drawing the government's attention to unresolved issues. Despite the strike, union leaders said efforts were made to minimise inconvenience to customers. Banks had informed customers in advance about the strike, and alternative services such as ATMs and digital banking platforms were kept operational. Speaking to ANI, Sanjay Kuthe, General Secretary of the Indian Bank Officers Association for Maharashtra and Goa, said the demand for a five-day workweek has been pending for a long time. "We demand the government to implement five-day working days for employees in a week. It is a long pending demand and has been delayed by over 2 years," he said. Kuthe added that the strike would not significantly impact customers, as prior arrangements had been made. "However, there will be no major issue for the bank customers as we have already informed them from before and all our ATMs and digital services are operative," he said. Echoing similar views, Wilbur Anton, General Secretary of the National Confederation for Bank Employees, Maharashtra, said the protest was being conducted in a calm and disciplined manner. "We are doing a silent and peaceful protest, seeking a five-day work per week for all the bank employees," Anton told ANI. He further stated that the demand for a reduced workweek has been raised repeatedly but remains unresolved. "We have been demanding the five-day per workweek for a long time and still the issue has not been resolved," he said. Addressing concerns about inconvenience to the public, Anton said banks had taken steps to ensure that customers were not affected. "We have already informed our bank customers regarding the closure of banking operations for today. Also, we have filled the ATMs for our customers and all our digital processes are working," he said. The one-day strike led to the closure of branch-level banking operations in many parts of the country, affecting services such as cash withdrawals and deposits at counters. However, digital banking services, mobile banking applications and ATM services continued to function normally, providing customers with access to essential banking facilities. Bank unions have maintained that a five-day working week would help improve work-life balance for employees and align the banking sector with other segments of the financial industry. They have urged the government to address the issue at the earliest. The unions stated that while Tuesday's strike was limited to one day, further steps could be considered if their demands continue to remain unaddressed. (ANI)
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