Raj Sadosh/Abohar.

Bank employees and officials staged a protest demanding implementation of a five-day work week.

Mayur Gupta, Organizing Secretary of NCBE, said that the bank employees' union has been struggling for the past 10 years under the leadership of the UFBU to implement a five-day banking week. He added that in the bilateral agreement of March 8, 2024, it was mentioned that the government would soon announce its implementation. However, even after a year, no announcement has been made. Therefore, UFBU announced a nationwide strike on March 24-25, 2025, but this strike was postponed after assurances from the Chief Labour Commissioner and the Ministry of Finance. He stated that due to the failure to fulfill this assurance, UFBU is now forced to resort to agitation. As part of this campaign, protests were held today outside all bank branches across the country.

Gupta said that it is surprising that a five-day work week has already been implemented in all other financial institutions in the country, including RBI, LIC, and GIC. He clarified that if there is any further delay, a nationwide strike will be called in January 2026.

Nitin Kumar and others appealed to the government to immediately implement the assurance given regarding their legitimate demand.