Work Life Balance : Strike of All India Bank Unions and Silence of Department of Posts
Article by: Pankaj Dwivedi, Sarojini Nagar Head Post Office, New
Delhi
Date: 18.01.2026
Today's era is not just about production and achieving targets, but also about a humane work culture and work-life balance. Modern administrations and responsible governments have acknowledged that maintaining the mental, family, and social well-being of employees is essential for the long-term efficiency of any organization.
In this context, public sector bank employees are going on a nationwide
strike on January 27, 2026. Their main demand is a 5-day work week, meaning a
holiday every Saturday. It's worth noting that public sector banks already
observe holidays on the second and fourth Saturdays. Now, employee unions argue
that working on the remaining Saturdays neither increases productivity nor
improves the quality of life for employees. All nine major bank employee unions
in India are united in this movement, which reflects the widespread nature
and seriousness of this demand.
Along with this, bank employees are also running an organized awareness
campaign on social media regarding this issue. The trending of hashtags like
Implement5DayBanking on Twitter (X) nationwide for the past two days indicates
that this issue is no longer limited to employee unions but has become part of
public discourse – which is a significant development in itself.
However, one question is crucial in this entire situation: where does the
Department of Posts stand?
The Department of Posts is no longer an institution limited to just letters and
parcels. Today, it operates the country's largest banking and financial
inclusion network- India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), Postal Savings Bank (POSB),
banking services in rural and remote areas, and the implementation of numerous
government schemes under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes.
Despite this, most ground-level employees of the Department of Posts are still
forced to work under a 6-day work system, with limited human resources and
an increasing workload.
This situation becomes even more ironic when it is known that the 5-day work
week system is already officially implemented at the Divisional and Circle
levels in the Department of Posts. This clearly exposes institutional
discrimination between administrative and ground-level postal employees.
Different work structures for employees working in the same department not only
reflect administrative inequality but are also unfair and unjust from a human
perspective.
It is surprising that while demands of bank employees become a subject of
national discourse, there is hardly any discussion at the departmental level or
initiative at the ministerial level regarding the work-life balance of postal
employees. Why can’t our top officials and policymakers take suo-motu
cognizance of this issue?
Another fundamental question is: Is striking the only way to demand rights
and justice?
Strikes reflect the helplessness of employees, but they disproportionately
affect ordinary citizens, rural beneficiaries, and small depositors. In a
democratic system, wouldn't dialogue, consultation, and timely decision-making
be more responsible and effective alternatives?
If work-life balance is essential for bank employees, the same principle should
apply equally to postal employees. They too serve the same public, are part of
the same government machinery, and work within the same human limitations. What
is needed today is for the government and the concerned ministry to adopt
policy equality and sensitivity:
A balanced and uniform work structure for all financial service providers
Respect for the mental, family, and social lives of ground-level employees
An effective and timely system of institutional dialogue before resorting to
strikes
Otherwise, the question will become even more pointed:
Is that work-life balance of postal employees doesn’t mean anything to the
Govt? Are they destined to remain "invisible service providers"
forever?
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