Banks Demand A 5-Day Working Week, IBA Submits Official Proposal Seeking Changes

The Minister of State for Finance, Bhagwat Karad, informed the Parliament on Tuesday that the IBA has formally submitted the proposal to make all Saturdays as official holidays for the employees.

Currently, banks work on the first, third, and fifth Saturdays in a month and remain off on the other two.

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Public banking sector employees could hear some good news soon as an official proposal seeking a five-day working week has been submitted for consideration from the Indian Banks Association (IBA).

Replying to queries about the IBA seeking changes in the working week in public banks, Minister of State for Finance, Bhagwat Karad, informed the Parliament on Tuesday that the IBA has formally submitted the proposal to make all Saturdays official holidays for the employees, reported India Today. 

The IBA acts as a representative of a broad category of banks in India, including public and private sector banks, foreign banks which have a presence in India, cooperative banks, regional rural banks, and all Indian financial institutions. 

Notably, the banks in India have given the employees an official leave on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month since 2015. These changes came into effect in 2015 after the government implemented the rule under the 10th Bipartite Settlement, signed with the RBI, for all banks in India to provide two extra holidays on two Saturdays in the month. This holiday marks a mandatory one and applies to all public and private banks in the country. Currently, banks work on the first, third, and fifth Saturdays in a month and remain off on the other two.

While the proposal has been submitted, the minister didn’t inform whether it has been accepted or if it is going to be taken into consideration anytime soon. If the changes are implemented, it could potentially mean an increase in working hours for the employees during the working days in the week, reported TOI earlier this year in October. This would essentially mean that the employees would need to work for five days a week, but would have to increase their working hours by 40 minutes on a daily basis.