Employees good news: Five days work a week, Salary Increase 15 percent

It has been reported that government and private sector banks are negotiating a 15 per cent hike in the salaries of their employees. Furthermore, it is also reported that banks are now planning to implement a five-day working week. Earlier, the Indian Banks Association (IBA) had approved a five-day working week for banks. After that approval from the Finance Ministry and RBI is now awaited.

At present, bank branches operate on the first, third and fifth Saturdays of the month. Second and fourth Saturdays are holidays. In 2015, the RBI and the Center declared the second and fourth Saturdays as holidays by the Indian Banks Association (IBA). Various bank unions have long been demanding a holiday on all Saturdays and Sundays.

If the demand is approved by the government and the RBI, it is proposed that the daily working hours in the branches will be extended by 45 minutes. According to reports, the IBA on Thursday proposed a 15 percent hike in the salaries of bank employees. But unions are said to be pushing for more increases, along with other changes.

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Some banks, including Punjab National Bank (PNB), have started making provisions for salary hikes. Notably, these negotiations are being closely monitored by the Finance Ministry. Due to the good financial performance of the banks in recent years, these bank employees’ unions are demanding a higher salary hike.

“Recently banks have seen a good increase in profits and employees have put in extra effort to bring lenders back on track. So employees deserve better compensation,” say bank employees and unions. There have been several massive bank strikes in the past. The main demand is that there should be a bank holiday for 5 days in a week. Recruitment should be done for the vacant post.

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The bank union has several demands, including revision of the old pension scheme. The United Forum of Bank Unions has earlier demanded that a 5-day working week should be implemented in banks. Banks should work only five days a week. They demanded that the rest of the days should be holidays. This rule will be applicable in most of the large private sector companies.

All India Bank Emp Association (AIBEA) general secretary CH Venkatachalam said after the last UFBU meeting that the demand of the employees is to renew and revise the pension for all pensioners, abolish the National Pension Scheme and restore the old pension scheme for all bank employees.