All of us are aware that in the recent years, there is a deliberate slowdown in recruitment of clerical staff and virtual non-recruitment of substaff including part-time employees/housekeeping staff in most of the Banks. The reasons are also obvious to all of us. One of their agenda is to officerise the banking industry. Another idea is to reduce the number of workmen, who are covered under the ID Act. The third idea is to reduce the militant fighting force. It is also due to their desire and preference for employees on contractual basis with lesser wages and to avoid long term liabilities like retirement benefits.
That is why in our Indore CC meeting, we decided to concentrate on the demand for adequate recruitment in Banks. We also decided to launch an agitation on this vital issue. Now this has become one of the important issues from the United Forum of Bank Unions and hence the demand is a vital issue in our ensuing 2 Days All India Strike on 30th and 31st January, 2023.
Because of inadequate recruitments in Banks and non-filling up of vacancies in the Branches, the workload on the existing employees has been increasing enormously. Employees are unable to complete their routine work within the regular working hours. Not unoften, employees are under undue pressure from the management to ‘somehow complete’ the work and go home. Hence there is a lot of unbearable work-stress.
This is more so in the case of young employees and more particularly in Branches where there are only one or two clerical staff.
With more and more of the transactions relating to various government schemes operationalized through bank branches, the number of customers to be attended by the staff in the Branches is on the increase.
In the name of digitalization, ATMs are being closed down and this is adding to the customers in the Branches.
Different types of retail banking products are being launched by the Banks and this is also increasing the volume of work in branches including cross-selling of insurance products.
Moreover, the traditional and normal customer base and composition has changed over the years and hence the expectation of the present-day customers on the Banks and Bank staff has also changed. In fact, there is over-expectation.
Similarly, due non-filling up of substaff vacancies, Branches are compelled to employ substaff on temporary and casual basis with all its implications. There are such employees working for years together and litigations are also obviously increasing. Managements, particularly the top managements of the Banks, are deliberately overlooking this problem. Obviously, it is a ploy to engage outsourced employees in these vacancies. The role and hand of the Government in this is no secret.
The non-filling up of such large number of permanent clerical and substaff vacancies in the Banks is also resulting in denial of reservation for SC/ST category employees in these job opportunities. Thus, it is an affront on the constitutional provisions.
The management expects further improvement in customer services. We also have no objection to the policy of zero-intolerance to customer complaints. But without adequate and sufficient staff, how can the employees cater to better customer service?
When employees work under such stress, the quality of customer service is bound to deteriorate, leading to customer dissatisfaction, customer complaints, even quarrel, etc.
When such customers feel dissatisfied with the service, very easily they attribute this to Banks being under public sector, just forgetting that the entry of many such customers into the banks itself was only due to nationalisation of Banks.
- If managements are really employee-welfare-centric, they should ensure adequate recruitments in Banks and relieve the employees of the stress.
- If managements really want to improve customer services, they should take measures to fill up the huge unfilled vacancies.
- If managements are really concerned about the smooth functioning of the Branches, they should come forward to provide sufficient staff in the Branches.
- If managements really want to utilize the officers for the intended jobs, the existing clerical vacancies should be filled up.
Thus, from every point of view, our demand for adequate recruitments in the Banks is very vital. We should highlight our demand with the customers also. We should associate the unemployed youth in our campaign.
We got our jobs because our Unions and predecessors fought for more recruitments. It is our turn to fight for adequate recruitments so that more unemployed youth will get their jobs.
With Greetings
Yours Comradely,
C.H. VENKATACHALAM GENERAL SECRETARY
Employee satisfaction is as important as customer satisfaction
