Lucknow: Hundreds of bank employees and union representatives staged a strong protest outside the main branch of Union Bank of India at Lalbagh on Monday, demanding the immediate implementation of a five-day banking week.
The protest was organised under the banner of the United Forum of Bank Unions, with members and office-bearers of various affiliated unions participating in large numbers. The protesters urged the Central government and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) to act on what they described as a long-pending and legitimate demand of bank employees.
District convener Anil Srivastava said bank employees had previously organised demonstrations, sit-ins, rallies and social media campaigns in support of the five-day banking system. He said employees had also observed a one-day nationwide strike on January 27 this year, but the government had yet to accept their demand.
D.K. Singh, general secretary of the National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), questioned why banks were being treated differently when several financial and regulatory institutions, including the Reserve Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation, Securities and Exchange Board of India and NABARD, already operate on a five-working-day basis.
State convener Y.K. Arora said bank employees were even willing to put in additional working hours on weekdays to facilitate the transition. “If five-day banking is implemented, we are ready to work an additional 40 minutes every day,” he said.
S.K. Sangtani said the IBA had already accepted the demand and forwarded it to the government for approval, but the issue had not received the required response from the Centre. Laxman Singh said five-day banking should be viewed as an employee right and not as a concession.
Other bank union leaders, including Y.K. Arora, D.K. Singh, S.K. Sangtani, Laxman Singh, Sandeep Singh, Sachin Kesarwani, V.K. Mathur, Ashok Agrawal and Anil Srivastava, stressed that growing workload, workplace pressure and stress among bank employees made the implementation of a five-day working week necessary.
Media in-charge Anil Tiwari said employees would be prepared for a prolonged struggle if the demand was not addressed. He said further action would be taken in accordance with the directions of the unions’ central leadership.
The protesters reiterated that they would continue to press the government and the IBA until a decision was taken on the implementation of the five-day banking system.
