Good News For PSU Bankers: Salary Hike Expected, Five-Day Work Week by June 2024, Check Details

Bank workers may have some good news in 2024 as they are expected to receive a pay increase and a 5-day work week. The bank staff will receive five working days by June and possibly a pay increase as well, if the Ministry of Finance gives its approval. The group that represents bank employee unions, the United Forum of Bank Unions, has recommended a five-day work week for the banking industry in a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

There would be no decrease in the number of hours that clients can bank or in the overall number of working hours that officers and personnel work, according to the banks' recommendation to the finance minister.

The finance minister has reportedly been urged by the United Forum of Bank Unions to take a positive view of the situation and instruct the Indian Banks' Association appropriately. The organization further emphasized that RBI and LIC have already adopted the five-day workweek.

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Currently, a settlement struck in 2015 has resulted in a schedule of bank closures on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month. It was decided in the 2015 settlement to take the request to designate the remaining Saturdays as holidays into account later on.

Later, on December 7, 2023, a memorandum of understanding regarding the pay revision and improvements to bank employees' service conditions was also signed by the Indian Banks' Association and bank unions.

Regarding this, the United Forum of Bank Unions conveyed its appreciation to the government and the finance minister for their well-received demands. It further stated that the ministry recognized the prompt completion of talks, which was made possible by the agreement between bank unions and the IBA.

It should be mentioned that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed last year between the Indian Banks' Association and bank employee unions led to a 17% pay raise for staff members in all Indian public sector banks, totaling Rs 12,449 crore.

Now this, if the Centre approves, then about nine lakh employees, including 3.8 lakh officers, in PSU banks like SBI and many private sector banks, will get the benefits of salary hike and probably the 2-days off as well.