Bank employees stage rallies over five-day workweek demand

Bank officers and employees from nine banks staged rallies across the erstwhile Karimnagar, Adilabad and Nizamabad districts on Friday, demanding implementation of a five-day workweek and extension of performance-linked incentives to all bank staff

Adilabad: As part of a nationwide protest called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), officers and employees of nine banks took out rallies across the erstwhile Karimnagar, Adilabad and Nizamabad districts on Friday, pressing for the immediate implementation of a five-day workweek and extension of performance-linked incentives.

Kokkula Srinivas, secretary of SBISUHC (SBI Staff Union Hyderabad Circle), Mancherial region, recalled that the Union government had agreed to introduce the system during consultations with the Indian Banks’ Association in March 2024. He regretted that the government had not implemented it so far, disappointing employees.

Srinivas said employees were undergoing severe mental and physical stress due to digitalisation, increased workload, target pressures and staff shortages, and deserved the five-day workweek immediately. He pointed out that the system had already been introduced by the RBI, Sebi, LIC, Nabard and Irdai.

Leaders of the bank unions said the inordinate delay in implementing the five-day workweek was causing injustice to employees. They urged the Union government to honour the assurances made during the consultations. They also sought the extension of performance-linked incentives to all bank staff and criticised the government for discriminating against lower-rank officials.