If you have any pending bank-related work, get it done today. Government banks will remain open today despite it being Sunday. Banks will remain closed from tomorrow until Wednesday. Bank employees will go on strike for the next three days over their demand for two days off a week. Sunday is an opportunity for banks to open after 10 years. Before this, banks had opened on Sunday, 14 November 2016, following demonetisation. At the time, people had thronged banks to exchange and deposit the old ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes and withdraw cash. The government had decided to keep banks open on Sunday as well to manage the crowds. No charge for withdrawing cash from ATMs During the bank strike, no charge will be levied for withdrawing cash from the ATMs of all government banks, including SBI and PNB, even after the monthly free limit has been exhausted. Under RBI rules, you can currently withdraw cash free of charge five times a month from your own bank’s ATMs. The limit for free transactions at other banks’ ATMs is three times a month in metro cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, and five times in smaller cities. If you withdraw cash from an ATM more times than the limit in a month, ₹23 + GST is charged each time. In addition, when you use an ATM, banks also pay each other a fee-₹19 for cash withdrawals and ₹7 for balance enquiries. Unions Defiant on Strike, 90% of Employees to Participate The unions have rejected the Financial Services Department, Indian Banks’ Association and bank management’s appeal to call off the strike. Seven major bank unions from across the country will participate in the strike, with approximately more than 90% of bank employees affiliated with them. These include AIBEA, AIBOC, NCBE, AIBOA, BEFI, INBEF and INBOC. The unions said their protest would continue until the government sets a firm date for implementing a five-day working week. Government denies 5-day working in Banks Just before the bank employees’ strike, a media report claimed that the government had never promised a five-day working week for banks and that the issue was not discussed during the salary revision talks either. A Finance Ministry source said the demand had been raised unilaterally by employee unions and that no agreement had been reached on it between the two sides. Government and Unions also face off over PLI scheme Alongside the five-day workweek, a dispute is also continuing over the rules for bonuses (PLI). The government has implemented a new bonus rule for senior officers, such as Scale-4 officers and above. Under the rule, high-performing officers may receive an incentive or bonus equal to 365 days’ basic salary. Bank unions are also opposing this provision. Post navigation BCCI announces Muthoot FinCorp as Indian cricket’s title sponsor:Deal covers 39 int’l home matches; runs until March 2028
