Overview
- The Indian Banks' Association set up the committee on Sept 29 with Bank of India CEO Raineesh Karnatak as chair and PNB CEO Ashok Chandra as alternate, and it includes senior IBA executives and seven UFBU union representatives.
- Bank unions deferred a planned three-day nationwide strike on Sept 29 after late-night talks so the panel could begin deliberations and banks operated normally.
- The committee's formal remit is to study declaring the remaining Saturdays as holidays and it is expected to consider hybrid models such as keeping banks open on two Saturdays each month to protect customer access.
- Key staff demands on performance-linked incentives, pensions and working conditions fall outside the committee's brief and will be negotiated separately with the IBA, the Reserve Bank of India or the finance ministry.
- Once the panel submits its recommendations the RBI and the finance ministry would take the final call, a step that could change bank calendars and alter how customers access services on weekends.