SUBHASH MISHRA
Ranchi, Jan 4: Bank employees in Jharkhand, under the banner of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), will stage a dharna in support of their demand for a five-day work week in banks.
The dharna will be held near Naga Baba Khatal in Ranchi from 11 am.
Government ignoring five-day week demand: UFBU
UFBU joint conveners M.L. Singh and Manish Singh said that despite national-level demonstrations on December 23 and December 30, 2025, the government has not taken any step on their single-point demand of implementing a five-day work week for bank employees.
They said that due to continued neglect, bank employees have been left with no option but to sit on a dharna and intensify their agitation.
ALSO READ: Jharkhand HC@25: How the high court drew the line on reservation in promotion
The UFBU leaders pointed out that institutions such as RBI, NABARD, SEBI, stock exchanges, and insurance companies, including LIC, GIC, UIIC, NIC and OIC, already have a five-day work week.
They added that corporate and international companies, the IT sector, including TCS, public sector undertakings like ONGC and BPCL, and central government departments also follow the same system. However, commercial bank employees have not been given this facility.
Injustice to bank employees
“This is nothing but injustice to bank employees and a cruel joke with their health,” said M.L. Singh and Manish Singh.
They further said that both the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and the United Forum of Bank Unions agree on the five-day work week demand. As the government has been ignoring the issue for a long time, bank employees are compelled to stage the dharna.
