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Post-Republic Day Surprise: Aryavart Bank Orders Weekend Work
Aryavart Bank's surprise directive for weekend work sparks controversy, following a trend in Public Sector Banks.
Author: Saurav Kumar
Published: January 25, 2024
In a surprising development, the management of Aryavart Bank, a Regional Rural Bank (RRB) based in Uttar Pradesh, issued a directive instructing its officials and employees to resume work on either Saturday or Sunday (27th and 28th January).
The directive, communicated through WhatsApp, tasks officials with activities like NPA recovery and PWO through field visits on January 27th and 28th. Progress reports on weekend tasks are mandated to be submitted to the head office.
Image: Weekend Work Instructions to Aryavart Bankers
In a separate letter to RRB bankers in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, branch heads directed all employees to participate in field visits during the upcoming weekend after Republic Day celebrations.
Image: Handwritten Branch Order on Weekend
As of now, bank unions have not officially responded to the directive.
Resistance to Weekend Work
This move comes after a two week gap in the previous weekend work directive, which faced opposition from bank unions like AIBEA and AIRRBEA. Unions instructed their members to abstain from going to banks on the past weekend. Employees allege that there is a growing trend of weekend work in Aryavart bank.
A banker speaking anonymously, mentioned, “Field visits on weekends are slowly turning into a new normal after the new Chairman assumed the responsibility. Thus leading to occasional boycotts of weekend work by bank unions unanimously.”
Controversy Surrounding Weekend Work
Weekend work controversies are on the rise in Public Sector Banks (PSBs), with allegations of work-life imbalance and pressure to meet targets.
Bank of Baroda employees in Rajasthan complained about the weekend work pressure recently. And on similar lines, bankers in the SBI in the state of UP were also forced to work on Saturday and Sunday to meet the targets of various schemes. And in the backdrop of work life imbalance, the demand to implement 5 days banking is increasing.