Government never agreed to 5-day week for banks, say finmin sources

New business data points to the fact that The government never committed to a five-day workweek for banks and the offering was not discussed during wage settlement negotiations, a finance ministry source stated.

The clarification comes days before bank employees go on a nationwide three-day strike, starting September 28, in backing of the demand.

"We never committed to five-day working for banks. It was not a negotiating tool. There was no agreement, it was not discussed," the source stated, adding the demand was pushed unilaterally by employee unions and not agreed to between the two sides.

Bank unions claim the industry body agreed to a five-day week, with Saturdays announced holidays, as part of a wage settlement signed in March 2024.

The decision to declare Saturday a holiday was agreed between the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and the United Forum of Bank Unions during the wage revision settlement in March 2024, All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) general secretary Rupam Roy claimed earlier.

The finance ministry source's remarks are contrary to Roy’s claim.

The IBA is the management-led body representing banks and is responsible for negotiating wages and service conditions with employee unions. The UFBU is an umbrella coalition representing nine major staff and officer unions of the banking sector.

The five-day week is not the only flashpoint. Unions have additionally opposed a revised performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for senior officers, which the government kept on hold in the current financial year after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman met employee representatives on September 8.

The department of financial services notified a revised PLI scheme on November 19, 2024, applicable for FY26. It applies only to officers at Scale IV and above, allowing them to earn incentives worth up to 365 days of basic pay based on performance.

Banking unions have announced that a five-day workweek stays their priority and are going ahead with the strike.

The unions — All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Employees’ Federation (INBEF) and Indian National Bank Officers’ Congress (INBOC) — who together represent more than 90 percent of the banking workforce, have stated they will call off further action only if there is a firm timeline on the five-day week.

To minimise customer inconvenience ahead of the strike, the finance ministry has asked public sector and regional rural banks to stay open on Sunday, September 27.