Tag: bank employees

Bank employees posted in sensitive positions to get surprise leave every year, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

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Bank employees posted in sensitive positions will get surprise leave for not less than 10 consecutive working days every year.

The Reserve Bank of India has directed banks to adopt a ‘mandatory leave’ policy for such employees.

They will be sent on leave without any prior intimation.

This policy will come into effect within six months from now.

“Banks shall ensure that the employees, while on ‘mandatory leave’, do not have access to any physical or virtual resources related to their work responsibilities, with the exception of internal/ corporate email which is usually available to all employees for general purposes,” RBI said in a note to banks Friday.

The regulator told banks to adopt board-approved policy and prepare a list of sensitive positions to be covered under ‘mandatory leave’ requirements.

“Implementation of this policy shall be reviewed under the supervisory process,” RBI said.



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Covid kills over 1,000 bank employees as virus ravages India

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Indian banks have lost more than a thousand employees and many more are infected, according to an industry body, underscoring the heavy toll that the virus has taken in the Asian country battling the world’s worst coronavirus crisis.

“We have lost more than 1,000 colleagues already,” S. Nagarajan, General Secretary of the All India Bank Officers’ Association told Bloomberg News over phone on Saturday. “Bank employees are frontline workers and the virus is affecting them.”

With more than 24 million people infected in India and over 266,200 dead amid the world’s fastest-growing outbreak, the bulk of Indian States are in a lockdown with strict stay-at-home orders. But the banking sector is slotted as an essential service and partially exempt from the lockdown orders. Lenders are allowed in some cases to call as much as 50% of their workforce in bank branches to avoid any disruption in banking services.

C.H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary of the All India Bank Employees Association — the largest body of bank workers — told the moneycontrol.com website that 1,200 employees had died due to the virus. “Not all banks are forthcoming in sharing the details and compensation policies for the families of those who died due to this virus,” Venkatachalam said.

Venkatachalam was not immediately available to Bloomberg for comments.

The Press Trust of India on Friday reported that Debasish Panda, a senior federal government bureaucrat wrote to State authorities urging them to vaccinate bank and insurance employees against COVID on a priority basis.

India, which is facing a severe vaccine shortage, has administered more than 180 million COVID shots so far. At this rate, it will take a projected 2.5 years to cover 75% of the population with a two-dose vaccine, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker.

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States, UTs not giving priority to bankers to get vaccinated, says AIBOC

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The All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) has requested the Union Ministry of Health Services & Family Welfare (MoHFW) to suitably intervene so that bank employees and other service providers can avail of Covid-19 vaccination easily and on priority basis.

The Association said despite the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs recognising bankers as frontline Covid-19 warriors, till date no perceptible initiative has been taken by any State Government/Union Territory (UT), save and except Arunachal Pradesh, for arranging vaccination to the bank employees/workers and their families on priority basis.

Vaccinate banking and insurance sector staff on ‘priority basis’: FinMin to States

‘Undue procrastination’

Emphasising that bankers are rendering yeoman service to the nation during the pandemic to keep the wheels of the economy moving, Soumya Datta, General Secretary, AIBOC, said: “As per information available, nearly 1,500 bankers have succumbed to the virus. The toll has been heavy in the resurgent second wave which has wreaked havoc. It is extremely unfortunate that several young employees and officers below the age of 45 have succumbed to this pandemic.”

Banks roll out special schemes to protect, treat employees amidst Covid surge

Datta observed that had these bankers been vaccinated in time along with other frontline workers, number of precious lives could have been saved.

“This undue procrastination has caused deep angst and resentment across the nation amongst bankers. While all State Governments and UTs arranged for vaccination for the frontline workers particularly for healthcare workers and police department, the bank employees and officials continue to be ignored,” he said.

In a letter to Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, MoHFW, Datta requested him take up the issues with appropriate authorities in States and UTs for procuring sufficient quantity of vaccine for Bankers, their family members and all service providers, including casual/ contractual workers, business correspondents, workers in cash logistic companies and cash-in-transit companies connected with banks, ATM maintenance personnel, banking correspondents, and security guards on priority basis.

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FinMin asks State-run banks, insurers to consider postponing promotion process

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The finance ministry has asked all public sector financial intermediaries to take cognisance of the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic situation and take appropriate steps to ensure that the promotion process factors in the constraints likely to be faced by their officers and staff.

The ministry emphasised that the officers and staff of the public sector financial intermediaries — public sector banks (PSBs), public sector insurance companies (PSICs) and financial institutions (FIs) — may be given adequate opportunity for participating in the promotion process.

Postponement of the promotion process may also be considered, it added.

The promotion process has coincided with a spike in Covid-19 cases across the country, along with lockdown/curfew and increase in micro-containment zones.

There also cases of bank employees or their family members being hospitalised due to Covid-19 infection.

When the Covid-19 pandemic set in last year, some of the public sector financial intermediaries went online for conducting promotion interviews.

Sanjeev K Bandlish, Convenor, United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), in a letter to the finance ministry, said: “In the current wave that is sweeping across the nation, we are distressed to note that already several bank employees and officers have died. It is shocking to note that some of them could not even get admitted to hospitals due to the dearth of beds.”

Govt should usher in five-day week

Bandlish sought reduced working hours, five-day banking and exemption from duty to employees with existing comorbidities, pregnant employees/officials, persons with disabilities (Divyangjan), among others.

Referring to the Centre recently declaring every Saturday as a public holiday for the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in the run up to its initial public offer, KS Krishna, General Secretary, All India SBI Employees’ Association, observed that bank employees too should get relief in the form of five-day week amid the raging pandemic.

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Bank employees seek to reduce banking hours, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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AHMEDABAD: Members of Maha Gujarat Bank Employees’ Association (MGBEA) on Tuesday made a representation before the state level bankers’ committee (SLBC) seeking to reduce banking hours in the wake of the steep surge in Covid-19 cases.

“All branches can reduce business hours from 10am to 2pm and provide essential services only. Employees should be allowed to go home after the business hours. The purpose is to reduce the exposure of the staff with public,” mentioned a statement released by MGBEA.

In the wake of the prevailing situation in Gujarat, MGBEA has requested the head of SLBC and the state government to issue guideline to banks.

“Bank branches will be vulnerable points for transmission of Coronavirus. Nearly 10,000 bank employees are tested positive in March 2021. Across Gujarat, some 3,718 branches of nationalised banks along with 1,286 branches of State Bank of India and 1,619 of district and state cooperative banks in addition to 769 branches of gramin bank and 2,206 private bank branch have been operational full time,” said Janak Rawal, general secretary, MGBEA.

“After the hearing of a Suo moto public interest litigation on the Covid-19 surge, Gujarat Government issued some guideline related to Covid-control in Gujarat and allowed government offices to work with 50% staff. We have represented the matter before SLBC, Gujarat and to the chief secretary, Gujarat government to issue guideline for the functioning of banks branches in the state,” Rawal further added.

Bank should be advised to work with reduced staff strength which will be helpful to the employees as well as to the bank in implementing business continuity plan, according to MGBEA. “The banks must close the branch for 48 hours, if any employee tests positive for Covid-19.”



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Finance Ministry calls for vaccination of all bank and NPCI employees on priority

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The Finance Ministry has called for urgent Covid-19 vaccination for employees of all banks and the National Payments Corporation of India, irrespective of their age.

In a letter, the Department of Financial Services in the Finance Ministry has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to consider Covid vaccination on a priority basis for bank and NPCI employees, pointing out that “they are on the frontline and deal with customers and critical infrastructure for seamless banking and payment system”.

Bank employees have worked through the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. Bank unions have been requesting that bank staff be treated as frontline workers and are vaccinated as early as possible.

The letter comes amidst the second wave of the pandemic and concerns over mutant strains.

Data with the Indian Banks’ Association reveals that there have been 600 deaths due to Covid-19 in the banking industry as of December 31, 2020. The sector has about 13.5 lakh workers.

“Bank employees have played a critical role over the past year in ensuring that bank branches remain open and functional, and are providing the complete suite of banking services to their customers,” the DFS noted in its letter.

NPCI staff, too, have played a critical role, it said.

The DFS has also received representations from the IBA, HDFC Bank and NPCI on the issue.

At present, the Covid-19 vaccination is available for those above 45 years of age.

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Bank union calls for vaccination for all employees in Maha, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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With alarming rise in COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, a bank union has written to Bank of Maharashtra, the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) convenor of the state, requesting a special vaccination drive for all bank employees. On Sunday, Maharashtra reported the highest single-day rise of 57,074 coronavirus positive cases, while 222 patients succumbed to the infection, according to the state health department.

“We request you to make special arrangements for vaccination of all bank employees who are frontline warriors in fighting Covid,” Maharashtra State Bank Employees Federation General Secretary Devidas Tuljapurkar wrote in the letter addressed to the general manager (SLBC), Bank of Maharashtra.

The union has requested to revisit the current situation and issue guidelines related to customers entry into bank branches through deployment of security guards, frequent sanitisation of branches, alternate day working and work from home for female bank employees and employees above 55 years.

The state government has announced a partial lockdown starting 8 pm today till April 30 and a complete shutdowns on weekends to curb the rapid spread of Covid-19.



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Bank employee’s strike may impact SBI’s operations, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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State Bank of India, country’s largest lender said in its exchange filing, “We has been advised by Indian Banks Association (lBA) that United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) which comprises 9 major Unions, has given a call for all lndia strike by Bank Employees on 15th & 16th March, 2021.”

“While Bank has made all arrangements to ensure normal functioning in its branches and offices, it is likely that work in our Bank may be impacted by the strike.” the lender said in the exchange notification.

The strike is against the Centre’s proposal to privatise two public sector banks.

United Forum of Bank Unions(UFBU) board includes All lndia Bank Employees’Association (AIBEA), All lndia Bank Officers‘ Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All lndia Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA), Bank Employees Federation of lndia (BEFI), lndian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), lndian National Bank Officers’ Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) & National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO).



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