"Five-day banking week main demand behind nationwide strike": Bank Officers' Federation's Kushal Gupta

There are several reasons behind it. We have highlighted four reasons from them. The most important reason is five-day banking. This is a demand that has become very important for bankers, Gupta told ANI.

Highlighting the workload faced by bank employees, Gupta said that bankers work hard day and night and that the existing system is affecting their work-life balance.

Our colleagues work hard day and night. This is impacting their work-life balance, he said.

Gupta also said that the widespread availability of digital banking facilities means customers would not face significant inconvenience if physical bank branches remained closed for a day.

We have ATMs, cash deposit machines, UPI and internet banking. The public would not face any inconvenience if bankers were not available for a day, Gupta said.

He said the demand for a five-day banking week was first raised in 2012 and subsequently led to an agreement in 2015 under which bank employees were given two Saturdays off every month.

We had demanded this in 2012 for the first time. In 2015, under a written agreement, we were given two Saturdays off; 24 Saturdays in a year were given as offs, Gupta said.

Bank unions have called the nationwide strike on September 11 as part of their ongoing demands, with the implementation of a five-day banking week among the key issues. The strike is expected to affect regular branch operations, while digital banking channels and ATMs are expected to remain available for several services.

The demand for a five-day banking week has been pending for several years. According to the unions, banks agreed in principle to move towards a five-day week in 2015, when the second and fourth Saturdays were declared holidays.

The issue was revisited in 2020 and later formalised through the wage settlement signed on March 8, 2024. Under the arrangement, bank employees agreed to work an additional 40 minutes every day from Monday to Friday in return for all Saturdays being declared holidays. (ANI)