Gujarat banks slashed work hours, running with 50% staff

The State Government of Gujarat has allowed the banks to function with 50% staff till April 30, and also reduced their working hours till that period in a bid to reduce the risk of Corona Virus infection among the employees.

The  Finance Department of the Government issued a circular recently, a day after the State Level Banking Committee (SLBC) urged the State Government to take such steps, saying that over 30 employees of banks have died due to the infection in the last one month.

According to the circular, bank branches can either adopt the alternate work day method or work-from-home mode to ensure that only 50% staff comes to the branches. The State Government also curtailed the banking hours for customers by 2 hours. The banking business for customers shall be undertaken from 10 am to 2 pm now.

The circular added that the bank branches “shall provide only essential services, such as cash deposit and withdrawal, to customers and preference shall be given to senior citizens”. It also asked the banks to ensure adequate cash in their ATMs and encourage customers to use digital payment modes.