Bank staff under pressure to work at full capacity

MUMBAI: With no improvement in the pandemic situation in the country’s metros and large cities, bank staff are feeling the heat as they are being pressed to go on an overdrive in credit.
While in the early days of the lockdown, banks allowed branches to operate with skeletal staff, they are now writing to all employees asking them to report to duty. One private bank has informed staff that those who do not attend will be treated as on ‘leave without pay’.
Employees say that even those considered to be in the ‘high-risk’ category during the pandemic — those suffering from diabetes and heart conditions — are being asked why they are not at work. “My medical bills are paid by the bank, they should be knowing what I am suffering from,” said an official who had undergone a cardiac procedure.
More on Covid-19

Among those who have been regularly working at the branch office during the lockdown, there is heartburn because there is no alternate-day work arrangement like in zonal or head offices. In addition, there is no uniformity in rules across states with some regional offices making their own norms. Between public sector banks, too, there are differences in the way employees are compensated.
State Bank of India (SBI) has given employees a Rs 1,000 one-time allowance for sanitisers and masks. Bank of Baroda said that it is giving employees a one-month salary as an interest-free advance. This is aimed at helping them meet any extra expenditure they incur during this period. The bank has also extended a one-month pension advance to retired employees to meet difficulties in the procurement of medicine.
“They expect banks to deliver the goods, but they won’t give autonomy in its real sense. The government should understand that the potential for banking is at the bottom lines, for which branches need to be strengthened. Otherwise the government will make tall claims but, to translate the same into reality, it will need to address ground realities,” All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) joint secretary Devidas Tuljapurkar said in a statement.