Demonetisation: Bank employees still not paid for overtime, threaten legal action and strike

When demonetisation was announced on November 8 last year, it threw the banking system into chaos. The decision made 86% of currency notes redundant in one go. People rushed to their nearest banks to exchange old notes for new ones or to withdraw money in the new currencies. The rush and chaos was unprecedented and so was the workload that bank employees had to endure. In some cases, bank employees had to put in as much as 14 hours of work in a day. Their leaves were also cancelled as man power was considerably less compared to the amount of work.
 
Eleven months have passed since demonetisation was announced and yet bank officials say that they haven't been paid for the extra hours they put in during the period of notes ban. According to a report in Hindustan Times, banks have estimated the number of employees who are yet to receive their dues for the overtime to be 4 lakh.

Depending on the salary, an employee is likely to receive around Rs 100 to Rs 300 for every extra hour. CH Venkatachalam, General Secretary of All India Banks' Employees Association (AIBEA) told Hindustan Times that the issue has been brought to the notice of the government and if no action is taken they are likely to go on a strike or even take legal action.  He also mentions that almost none of the banks have cleared the overtime dues.
 
Venkatachalam also mentions that it is a long-standing pact between bank employees and employers that there would be extra pay for extra hours.

PM Modi's decision to ban Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes faced a lot of criticism and still continues to draw the ire of critics. The economy is still recovering from the unforeseen decision and has been trashed by former Union Minister Arun Shourie earlier this week.