'Document is fake': No, Centre has not declared every Saturday a bank holiday

The Centre on Thursday clarified that it has not declared every Saturday a public holiday for public sector banks, including the State Bank of India.

In a fact check, the Press Information Bureau said a Gazette notification circulating on social media and purportedly issued by the Ministry of Finance’s Department of Financial Services was fake.

"The document being circulated is #Fake," PIB Fact Check said. "No such notification has been issued by @FinMinIndia declaring every Saturday as public holiday for public sector banks."

What Is The Current Rule?

Banks are currently closed on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month. The first, third, and fifth Saturdays are working days.

The clarification comes as the United Forum of Bank Unions, which represents seven major unions and roughly 8 lakh bank employees and officers, has been seeking a five-day working week for banks.

Bank unions have pushed for a five-day week for several years.

The government had partly accepted the demand in 2015, when it declared the second and fourth Saturdays as holidays following the 10th Bipartite Settlement.

Since then, unions have continued to seek holidays on the remaining Saturdays as well.

Last month, the bank unions had called for a three-day strike, but later deferred it following meetings with a high-level committee of the IBA.

C.H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary of the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA), said that a committee set up to examine the shift to a five-day banking week was to hold its first meeting on Wednesday and was expected to finalise its report quickly.

"Once the committee submits its recommendation, it will be up to the Reserve Bank of India and the finance ministry to take it forward and make the necessary legislative changes," he said.

The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) formed the high-level committee on Tuesday, soon after bank unions called off a three-day strike amid continuing negotiations. Its mandate is to discuss the implementation of a five-day banking week.