Amid demands from bank employees for a transition to a five-day work week, reports surfaced that Saturdays would now be a day off. Information circulated on social media claiming that the State Bank of India (SBI) and other public sector banks had announced a holiday every Saturday.
However, the government provided clarification on this matter. The central government stated on Thursday that it had not declared a public holiday on Saturday for public sector banks, including the State Bank of India. PIB reported that the circular circulating on social media, allegedly issued by the Department of Financial Services of the Ministry of Finance, is fake.
PIB's Fact Check further specified that the presented document is falsified, and the Department of Finance did not issue any notifications regarding the declaration of Saturday as a public holiday for public sector banks.
Currently, banks are only closed on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month. Banks operate on the first, third, and fifth Saturdays. This clarification came at a time when the United Forum of Bank Unions, representing about 800,000 bank employees and officials, along with seven major trade unions, insists on implementing a five-day work week.
Bank unions have been seeking a transition to a five-day work schedule for many years. The government agreed to this demand in 2015, declaring the second and fourth Saturdays as holidays following a tenth bilateral agreement. Since then, the unions have been demanding holidays on all other Saturdays.
Last month, bank unions announced a three-day strike, but it was postponed after meetings with a high-level IBA committee. S.K. Venkataraman, a member of the All India Bank Employees Association, stated that the first meeting of the committee established to study changes in the five-day banking schedule was scheduled for Wednesday, and its report is expected soon.