Bhubaneswar: With bankers demanding a 5-day work week since long, #5daybanking was trending on social media on Saturday. Though the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and employee unions had earlier signed an agreement in this regard in December last year, the final approval from the government is pending.
According to reports, bank employee unions, like the United Forum of Bank Unions, have been pushing for a 5-day workweek with Saturdays off for a while. These forums have, however, assured that this would not lead to a reduction in customer service hours.
“The bankers are the only people who’re always made as jokers by customers, Government, and politicians. I’m sure that 5 day working is going to be a myth and we will be toiled hard even more in coming days,” a user wrote on X.
Memes carrying messages like ‘waiting since decades #5DaysBanking’ flooded X. In another post, a user wrote: “Someone has said that #5daybanking cleared by DFS pending at PMO, can anyone elaborate how much time more will it take or timeline of approval?”
On March 8 this year, the 9th Joint Note was signed by the IBA and bank unions. According to news reports, the Joint Note highlighted the transition to a 5-day week with Saturdays and Sundays off.
The proposal will also need to be discussed with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as it regulates banking hours and inter-bank activities. However, the government has not announced any official deadline for its implementation. If approved, Saturdays will be officially recognised as holidays under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. In that case, the regular operational hours on working days may also get extended.
