A five-day working week at banks may still be some time away. While an in-principle agreement has been reached between the Indian Banks’ Association and public sector bank unions, a broader consensus will have to be reached with private sector banks and cooperative banks before this can be implemented, sources indicated.

Negotiations between the Indian Banks’ Association and the United Forum of Bank Unions have been completed but the proposal has to be forwarded to the ministry of finance. Discussions will also have to be conducted with the Reserve Bank of India and private sector banks, cooperative banks and regional rural banks will have to be brought on board for a five-day working week before it can be notified by the government, explained the source.

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“This is necessary to ensure that not only cheque clearing and other functions are not impacted but also the business of public sector banks does not get hit if private banks remain open,” explained the source.

Once approved, the government will have to notify all Saturdays as holidays under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. However, there is no concrete timeline on when this will be done.

As part of the agreement for a five-day working week, the working hours for banks would have to be increased by 40 minutes per day to offset any loss of work. This would mean that banks would function from about 9:40 am to 5:20 pm for five days a week as against the current practice of opening at 10 am and closing at 5 pm.

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At present, banks are closed on second and fourth Saturdays of every month. Public sector bank unions have, for long, been seeking a five-day week, citing the long working hours and the strenuous nature of work. Bankers have also argued that most transactions such as cash transfers and payments can now be done on mobile and internet banking apps and cash withdrawals and deposits can be done via ATMs and cash deposit machines.

Further, there is also a lot of confusion amongst the public regarding the Saturdays on which bank branches are functioning. The demand has also increased after Life Insurance Corporation of India agreed to a five-day week for its employees.