The Indian government has issued a clear clarification, stating that it has not declared every Saturday a public holiday for public sector banks, including the State Bank of India. This announcement comes in response to a fake Gazette notification circulating widely on social media.
Viral Document Declared as Fake
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check unit confirmed on Thursday that a document, purportedly issued by the Ministry of Finance’s Department of Financial Services, is entirely fabricated. "The document being circulated is #Fake," PIB Fact Check stated, adding, "No such notification has been issued by @FinMinIndia declaring every Saturday as public holiday for public sector banks."
The deceptive Gazette notification had claimed that the Central Government had made all Saturdays public holidays for all public sector banks. This false information caused confusion among the public and banking employees.
Current Bank Holiday Rules
Under the existing regulations, banks observe holidays on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month. The first, third, and fifth Saturdays remain working days for banking operations. This rule has been in effect since 2015, following the 10th Bipartite Settlement, which partially accepted demands from bank unions.
Context: Bank Unions' Demand for Five-Day Week
The clarification from the Centre arrives amidst ongoing efforts by bank employee unions to secure a five-day working week. The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), representing approximately 8 lakh bank employees and officers, has been advocating for this change for several years.
Recently, a high-level committee was formed by the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) to discuss the implementation of a five-day banking week. C.H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary of the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA), mentioned that this committee was expected to finalize its report swiftly. Once recommendations are submitted, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the finance ministry would be responsible for taking the proposal forward and enacting necessary legislative changes.
Last month, bank unions had threatened a three-day strike to press their demands, but deferred the action after meetings with the IBA committee.