Bank staff protest in Himachal over 5-day work week demand

Narendra Sharma, convenor of the UFBU, Himachal Pradesh, said the strike was primarily aimed at pressing for the implementation of a five-day banking week and raising objections to the “discriminatory” manner in which performance-linked incentives had been introduced

Strike by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on Friday has hit the banking services in the state. The bank employees and officers pressed for five-day banking and opposed the government’s performance-linked incentive (PLI) structure.

Narendra Sharma, convenor of the UFBU, Himachal Pradesh, said the demand for five-day banking had been pending since 2015. (ANI)

Narendra Sharma, convenor of the UFBU, Himachal Pradesh, said the strike was primarily aimed at pressing for the implementation of a five-day banking week and raising objections to the “discriminatory” manner in which performance-linked incentives had been introduced in public sector banks.

He said the demand for five-day banking had been pending since 2015. According to Sharma, bank employees had earlier surrendered half-day working on Saturdays in exchange for the introduction of holidays on the second and fourth Saturdays, while continuing to press for a complete five-day banking system.

He said bank employees had earlier gone on a nationwide strike on January 26 and 27 over the issue, but the government had still not taken a decision even after more than six months, leaving the unions with no option but to intensify their agitation.