Bank Employees stage massive strike: seeking two-day weekly off

More than 5,000 bank employees in Coimbatore participated in a nationwide strike on Monday, demanding the introduction of a five-day work week with two days off.
The protest is part of an all-India agitation by bank employees, who are seeking parity with other central government institutions such as the Life Insurance Corporation and the Reserve Bank of India, where employees already enjoy two weekly holidays.
The unions said banks should also be brought under a similar work schedule.
In Coimbatore, the demonstration was held at the Bank of Baroda premises opposite the Coimbatore Central Railway Station. Around 500 employees assembled at the venue, raising slogans and highlighting what they described as prolonged neglect of their demands by the Union government.
Union representatives claimed that the strike could lead to a business loss of nearly Rs. 5,000 crore in Coimbatore district and asserted that the responsibility for the disruption rested entirely with the central government.
They pointed out that with the rapid growth of digital banking, online transactions and ATM usage, customer footfall in bank branches has reduced considerably.
Bank employees said banking remains one of the most stressful professions in the country and clarified that their demand is not limited to holidays on Saturdays and Sundays, but for any two days off in a week. They warned that failure to resolve the issue would force them to escalate the protest into an indefinite strike.