Employees of government-owned banks may soon be allowed five-day work i.e., Monday to Friday, according to a CNBC Awaaz report. The Finance Ministry is likely to issue a notification on the same in the coming weeks. However, bank employees will be required to work an additional 40 minutes per day from 9:45 am to 5:30 pm, stated The Times of India (ToI) report.
While there is an in-principle agreement between the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) and public sector banks (PSBs) unions, several other issues will have to be resolved among PSBs, cooperative banks and private banks.
It is imperative for the banks to ensure that there is no delay in cheque clearing and other bank functions due to the change. Moreover, public sector banks will have to see that their business is not affected in case private banks decide to work on Saturdays, the expert said. Read here
Apart from Sundays, banks are closed on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month. Banks unions of public sector banks have been demanding a five-day week for a long time. Further, bankers argued that there is confusion among the common public about which Saturdays banks are closed.
If this change is approved, in accordance with Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, the government will need to release a notification declaring all Saturdays as holidays.
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