Justice With Bank Staff

Holiday for Banks on 2^nd and 4^th Saturday of every month

1.     Working in two shifts per day

Once upon a time (i.e. in 1980s and 1990s), banks in residential areas used to work for two shifts each day, in urban and metro centres.  But, it was later found that working for extra hours brought neither new customers nor additional business.  Only the existing customers came to the bank, as per their convenience.  It is a proven truth that most of the customers everywhere visit banks only between 11-00 A.M. and 3-00 P.M. every day, regardless of the business hours extending beyond these timings.

Some of the customers just increased their number of visits to the bank.  So, on one hand, it resulted in additional work load for the staff and wastage of precious manpower and time, without any accrual of additional business and income to the banks.

Moreover, in branches which had two shifts per day, there was only one Branch Manager, only one Sub-Manager/Joint Custodian and only one Cashier.  This created a lot of operational problems and resulted in several lapses and irregularities too.

Only after observing these points for nearly 2 decades, many banks made such two shift branches to function in single shift again.  But, while doing so, timings of many branches were suitably restructured in such a manner that most of those branches start their business hours by 9-00 A.M. now, so as to cater to the needs of office-goers.

2.     Working on 6 days a week

Working on 6 days a week has resulted in these things.

(a)   Existing customers only come to the banks, for conducting their banking transactions.

(b)   Overloading the existing staff without matching benefits in the form of additional business to the bank.

(c)   Bank staff are now compelled to work for more than 54 hours per week, as against the international norms of 40 to 42 hours per week at the maximum.

(d)   So, more than the bank staff, their families also suffer due to non-availability of their family head after office hours.

(e)   Due to excessive work, staff are exposed to all sorts of health disorders starting from emotional imbalance, physical and mental stress, high blood pressure etc.

3.     Working for longer hours help traders and small businessmen

It is true.  But, in the interest of the nation’s economy and to inculcate banking habits among all, the transactions done through cash exceeding certain value must be shifted to banks and done through account transfers. Even as per Section 40A(3)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, any expenditure incurred in respect of which payment is made in a sum exceeding Rs.20,000/- otherwise than by an account payee cheque drawn on a bank or by an account payee bank draft, shall not be allowed as a deduction.  But, this provision is followed more in breach everywhere.

Banks cannot provide a safety net to the cash balances kept with all.  Another thing is, keeping heavy cash balances inside the bank itself has inherent costs and risks to banks.  So, banks always tend to keep minimum required cash balances only. Only for this reason, branch-wise cash retention limit has been fixed.

4.     Working on Holidays

Bank staff are already made to work on several holidays – sometimes officially and many times unofficially.  Sad part in this is, they work for somebody else.  Why should banks be kept open on holidays in the year end, only to collect income tax from people who slept the whole year, without paying their taxes?  Instead of punishing the income tax payers who missed their deadlines, why bank staff shall be punished?

5.     Utilise Alternate Delivery Channels more

Customers shall be persuaded to utilise alternate delivery channels like ATMs, Debit Cards/Credit Cards, Point of Sale Terminals at Merchant Outlets, ECS, Standing Instructions, Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, RTGS/NEFT, OLTAS, making online payment to utilities like insurance, property tax, water tax, booking travel tickets etc. (even in the absence of internet banking facility) with Debit/Credit Cards.  Unless they do this, complaints against banks will remain.

I shall narrate one incident here.  There was one businessman who had multiple accounts and credit facilities at the bank branch where I had worked a few years ago.  He was tendering bunches of RTGS/NEFT requests at the last moment every day.  This was creating a lot of pressure on our staff and affected service to other customers too.  Then, I suggested to him to avail internet banking facility, so that he (or his accountant) could carry out such transactions at their will and pleasure, by sitting before the P.C. at their home/office, whenever it was convenient.  Internet banking hardly takes a few minutes for the transaction to be completed successfully.

But, he refused to listen.  When I asked for the reason for his refusal, it was strange and quite shocking.

He said: “If you commit any mistake, I can always hold you responsible and get it rectified. But, if I commit a mistake, whom I would ask?”.

Remember, he is a Post Graduate in Commerce (M.Com.) and he is a second generation businessman in his family!

6.     Illiterates and semi-literate persons will be benefited by banks working on Saturdays

Except in rural areas, the literacy level has vastly improved in other places.  Apart from that, if you extend the same logic, all government offices, non-life insurance companies and institutions like schools, colleges and Universities must also work on all Saturdays.  Same thing applies all public sector undertakings that enjoy 5 day week now.  Extending the logic a little further, why shall courts have summer vacation, when crores of suits are pending?

7.     Financial Inclusion

Without the active participation of bank staff, opening of 15 crore accounts under Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana would not have been possible.  For achieving this rare feat, bank staff worked for longer hours and on holidays.  Similarly, when a clarion call was given by PMO, all bankers rose to the occasion and opened more than 3 crore accounts under PMJJBY, PMSBY and APY within a couple of weeks.  Leave alone monetary compensation, bank staff did not even receive due recognition for these.

I challenge, will any government staff will come forward to do that?

8.     Growth and Financial Health of Banks

The author of the article has unnecessarily dragged this issue, while discussing holidays for bank on 2 Saturdays in a month.  Let him not unnecessarily blame the lower level staff for the recent setbacks faced by the banks at the macro level.

I’m prepared to extensively debate the points raised by him here on a separate platform.  Is he willing and ready? 

9.     Bankers Wages

I request the author to go to the market and conduct a detailed survey.  Then he will come to know that bank staff are one of the worst paid in the organized sector.  It is really a pity and it’s really a shame on the nation to treat bank staff like this.  It only shows the degree of importance attached by powers that be to the role of banks in building the nation’s economy.

10.  Loss making Banks

About 79 PSUs are loss making and sick.  Their accumulated losses have exceeded Rs.64,000 crores.  The accumulated losses of State Electricity Boards and State Road Transport Corporation in most of the states will be mind boggling.

Tax dues which are locked up in litigations for long time amount to trillions of Rupee and in Direct Taxes alone, there are arrears of Rs.6.75 lakh crore.  This is in addition to Rs.1.50 lakh crore dues outstanding in Indirect Taxes.  These are only dues of Central Government.  Besides, state government taxes like Sales Tax, State Excise duty, Property Tax etc. will run into a huge amount, an estimate of which is not known.

In spite of them, are not the state and central governments and PSUs hiking their staff salaries regularly?

See these links:

http://www.ibtimes.co.in/govt-may-shut-down-loss-making-psus-like-ongc-air-india-bsnl-609214

http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/79-sick-psus-wait-forjaitleys-next-move-chart-to-follow-114110601096_1.html

http://www.financialexpress.com/article/economy/only-5-5-of-tax-arrears-immediately-recoverable/26075/

http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/rs-2-lakh-crore-tax-dues-cannot-be-recovered-113042900444_1.html

Conclusion

It is very clear that the author does not possess proper knowledge nor adequate statistics with regard to various institutions, industries and sectors in India.

He is unnecessarily nurturing a grouse against bank staff for reasons not known.  So, this article of his is just a manifestation of such grouse.

Unfortunately, the media personnel also do not have requisite knowledge about the functioning of the banks and the difficulties experienced by bank staff today.  So, without verifying the facts, such articles get published.

Without advising the people to observe financial discipline, finding fault with bank staff is easy, but it is wrong and highly condemnable.

I request everybody to ascertain the truth themselves, before writing and publishing such articles which are damaging the reputation of banks and presenting shallow arguments against them.

Date: 16-06-2015                                                                                                                   pannvalan

Government of India and some section of media say that public sector bank do not  have paying capacity or banks have huge burden of bad assets or banks are in loss and hence it is not possible for IBA to give a substantial rise in wage to bank staff. They  plead denial of respectable of wage hike to bank staff  on the ground of less profitability of banks. They should read following news too.

Govt May Shut Down Loss-Making PSUs Like ONGC, Air India and BSNL-IBN news 16.09.14
The fate of some Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) in India hangs in balance as government officials discuss proposals to shut down some loss-making state-owned companies.
With the total net loss recorded at ₹245 billion ($4 billion) in 2012, which has only worsened, cabinet secretary Ajit Seth on Tuesday called a meeting of top officials to discuss the fate of 10 firms which have been making biggest losses.

Some of these PSUs, including Air India, BSNL, ONGC, SAIL, Hindustan Photofilms, Hindustan Fertilisers Corporation and HMT have been consistently bleeding cash and have survived only on budgetary allocations.
The Central government runs around 260 PSUs besides thousands of state-government owned firms which manufacture various types of consumer goods.
HMT: Last week, the government ordered to shut down HMT Watches and HMT Chinar Watches due to their continued losses since 2000. The company posted a loss of ₹242 crore in 2012-13. At the end of March 2012, the company was deep in debt worth ₹694.52 crore.

ONGC: In May, ONGC accused Reliance of 'stealing gases' and claimed a loss of ₹30,000 crore within less than a year of signing a memorandum with Reliance Industries. Following the loss ONGC took Mukesh Ambani's Reliance to court over gas theft, reported TOI. ONGC worried that Reliance drew gas secretly from its Krishna Godavari-D6 block.

BSNL: State-run telecom company incurred a loss of ₹14,979 crore in landline services during 2013-14, where as its overall loss was recorded at ₹7,085 crore.
Air India: This airline has been incurring losses and is trying to refuel its pockets via heavy discounts on fare prices. The state-run carrier halved its operating loss in the financial year. It suffered a loss of ₹2,120 crore in 2013-14, down from ₹3,800 crore in 2012.
Hindustan Photofilms: Incorporated in 1960, the company was well-known for making film rolls with Kodak as one of its brands. It was recommended for shut down in 2003 as it could not compete with other private players. The company approached the courts which gave a stay order on its closure. Its overall losses are around ₹82.33 billion rupees which is about 40 times its paid-up capital.
"There is no future for this company in the current environment. It is a fit case for winding down," an official from the Department of Public Enterprises told Reuters on conditions of anonymity.
PSU Employees Fate:
Before winning the Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi in April voiced his opinion on not closing down the PSUs citing example of his home state Gujarat. Modi said that the Gujarat state electricity board had an annual deficit of ₹2,500 crore, but by deploying professional and technological upgradations, the firm improved its efficiency and stopped incurring losses, reported Niti Central.
Employees have opposed the shutting down of state firms and Bhartiya Mazadoor Sangh (BMS) said it would join other unions in blocking the move.
"We are co-ordinating with all central trade unions on the matter. We are fortunate that all trade unions are on the same page when it comes to these issues," Vrijesh Upadhyaya, general secretary of the BMS said.