Banks To Remain Closed Every Saturday? IBA likely to agree on 5-day workweek demand but with a “CONDITION”
New Delhi: Banks are likely to remain closed every Saturday following discussions with the United Forum of Bank Employees, the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has agreed to give all Saturdays off.
This may be implemented after the long pending demand of a five-day working week for bank employees with the association agreeing in principle to a five-day week in exchange for longer hours, reported Times of India.
For now, the banks are closed only on the first and third Saturdays.
According to reports, S Nagarajan, general secretary, of All India Bank Officers’ Association said that in such cases the government will have to notify all Saturdays as holidays under section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.
He also said that since this was a long pending, that is why the deal was made outside the wage talks.
Also, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will also have to approve the proposal as it is responsible to decide the timing of most interbank activities.
How can this affect bank employees?
To compensate for the loss of hours due to the Saturday holiday, the bank employees will have to work 40 minutes extra.
With these changes, the employees will have to start working daily from 9:45 am to 5:30 pm.
Also, after the approval from RBI, the bank employees will enjoy Saturday and Sunday off.
This comes at a time when the stack markets are planning to raise the trading to align with the Western markets. The demands of Bank Union have been intensified after LIC accepted a five-day week proposal ahead of its listing.
In March 2023, the banks will remain closed for for 12 days, including the second and fourth Saturdays and all Sundays.