Employees of nationalised and regional rural banks staging a protest in Kalaburagi on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI
Employees of nationalised and regional rural banks staged a one-day strike in Kalaburagi on Tuesday, demanding the implementation of a five-day work week as envisaged in the 12th Bipartite Wage Settlement.
The strike was organised under the banner of various bank employee unions with staff abstaining from work and staging demonstrations in front of the Lead Bank office and the Karnataka Gramin Bank Regional Office here.
The bank employees demanded that the Union government implement the five-day work system as recommended in the 12th Bipartite Wage Settlement signed between the Indian Banks Association (IBA) and the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) in March 2024.
They pointed out that the agreement has been forwarded to the Centre for approval but it remains pending despite a lapse of over a year.
Employee unions leaders said that the delay is unjustified, especially when several financial institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, NABARD, LIC, GIC and SEBI are already following a five-day work schedule.
Stating that the continued inaction reflects discrimination against bank employees, the staff unions urged the government to implement the five working days system without further delay.
The employees also said that a five-day work week will reduce stress, enable better work-life balance and improve efficiency, which, in turn, will enhance the quality of customer service.
Office-bearers of the Regional Rural Bank Employees Federation said that prior notice of the strike was given and the Centre should have addressed the demands instead of allowing the situation to escalate into a protest.
Regional Secretary of State Bank of India Officer Association Ravi Gowda, State Bank Staff Union member Naveen K. and State Joint Secretary of All Indian Bank Union Chandramohan were present.
Published – January 27, 2026 08:43 pm IST
