Opening Of Banks On Holidays

OPENING OF BANK BRANCHES ON SUNDAY AND HOLIDAY.

ALL INDIA ALLAHABAD BANK OFFICERS' FEDERATION
Regn. No. 6171
(Affiliated to A.I.B.O.A.)
-------------------------------Central Office-------------------------
14, India Exchange Place, ( Ist Floor), KOLKATA – 700 001
-----------------------General Secretary’s Office------------------
412, Goyal Nagar , Kanadia Road, Indore- 452018
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GSO/2014/ 11 Indore / 28/03/2014

The General Manager
Government Business Department ,
Allahabad Bank,
Head Office,
Kolkata.

Dear Sir,
REG: OPENING OF BANK BRANCHES ON SUNDAY AND HOLIDAY.

Kindly refer to your communication GAD CIRCULAR No. 1322 dated 27th March, 2014 , with regard to opening of Bank branches for extended hours on Saturday the 29th, March, Sunday the 30th of March and again on Monday the 31st of March, 2014.

We express our disagreement and reservations on this decision of the bank and urge upon you to withdraw your instructions. 

In the States of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamilnadu , Andhra Pradesh, Goa. J&K the New Year falls on 31.03.2014. Making the workforce to work on the holidays of religious importance shall adversely affect the morale of the officer coupled with embarrassment in the family circle. 

Previous experience shows that relatively a very few number of tax payers walk in the bank during such extended working hours or holidays and Concerned Govt. Department may be asked to arrange to facilitate such citizens . 

Further there are alternative channels available to the Tax payers, which they should exercise to effect the payment of taxes. 

The workforce, if made to work on holidays and in extended working hours , it would amount to nine continuous working days against the settled principle of five and half days per week with forty-two and half hours of working hours. This is against the internationally practiced principle, settled long ago.
In view of the above , we are confident that your authority will review your decision and suitably advise all concerned .

Further , if it is unavoidable at all, minimum select branches at metro and urban centres should be involved in the process with minimum required staff.
Specific orders should be issued to the staff to work in extended working hours and to attend the branches on holidays.

All such staff should be provided compensatory off , not only for working on holidays , per bank's policy, but also for extended working hours , as on Saturday the extended hours will be almost equal to an additional working day. 

In addition to compensatory off, financial compensation for extended hours and Sunday/ holiday , not less than the amount equal to overtime wages payable to workmen employees for such period , should be paid to officers, on account of discomfort allowance and out of pocket expenses.

Yours sincerely,

Arvind Porwal,
General Secretary

Officers Associations takes up with IBA:-
Trade Unions representing Officers have addressed a letter dated 24th to IBA, detailing the reasons not to make Banks to work on 29th, 30th and 31st. They have also indicated that if not communicated to Govt, they will be advising the Officers suitably.

Again today, another letter has been addressed to IBA informing that :-
"the enormous expenses/losses, the Banks are making in keeping the branches and Offices open for relatively a small number of tax payers by extending the deadlines every year. It has also become a practice to ‘reward’/facilitate procrastinators vis-à-vis the disciplined law abiding tax payers, at an enormous outflow from the exchequer, adopting an unfair labour practice of compelling the Bank employees to over work, when they are already overburdened with the year end work, leading to exploitation of labour in the commercial Banks.

Under the circumstances and in absence of any favourable response from your end, all Officers’ Organisations will be compelled to resort to any trade union steps including boycott in protest, which please note"