Various unions and associations are in process of framing new wage structure and new rates of allowances for Bank employees to get signature of IBA.
I would like to submit some suggestions for consideration and necessary amendments in the existing policies.
Banks and unions should ensure time bound promotions based on seniority and those who do not perform (Non performance should be well defined) should be reverted to previous scale or penalized by stopping of increment. Without giving an opportunity to an officer to work at higher post how can management imagine that he will prove to be disaster? Arbitrary promotion and whimsical transfer should not have place in banks to avoid frustration among good workers.
At the same time , if an officer promoted by the management is subsequently found to be inefficient, corrupt and charge sheeted and found to be culprit in any way, the executive or the Branch Manger or the regional head whoever was instrumental behind elevation of that bad officer or who wrote good appraisal for even bad officer should be asked to explain and punished if needed so that caste based or religion based or region based or gift based or flattery based biased attitude do not come in picture.
Stagnation of increment should be eliminated from all scales especially when banks are unable to promote in want of adequate vacancy.
Union should suggest Steps to Management to ensure that there is no case of whimsical transfer and whimsical promotions. For this purpose Interview should be eliminated from all internal promotion processes. Writing of appraisal must be well defined by the bank so that different appraisers do not give marking as per their whims. Work done by the officer may be well quantified with clear-cut illustration so that in case of need appraiser can justify his assessment of officers.
PL should be allowed to accumulate without any limit and it should be made encashable as and when required. This is the need of the hour when all branches are short of manpower and hence sanctioning of leave has become almost unimaginable.
Officers are working under so much stress and pressure of target that even officers are afraid of taking leave. Even in two manned branches, banks are not able to provide substitute in case anyone goes on leave. There are several instances when one officer has to hold password of his colleague for smooth customer service. In such position, an officer cannot visualize demanding sanction of leave and sanctioning authority is constrained to decline leave on phone. As such demand of leave accumulation (including sick leave) and encashment of leave without any limit is very much justified.
Transfer allowance should be reintroduced and wherever banks are unable to provide staying arrangement banks would pay at least hotel expenses for minimum 15 days. In case of transfer before one year management should keep in record the reason behind such whimsical decision. There are instances that officers are transferred twice or thrice or even four times in a year. In such cases if management fail to give hotel living expenses, officer concerned will spoil him valuable time and energy in searching accommodation and this will not only affect adversely the family of the officer but also the interest of the bank.
Diem allowances for officers should be revised so that minimum diem is Rs.1000/ per day/
LFC encashment should be at least double the amount of AC fare. When an employee avails LFC, management should consider paying out of pocket expenses per member of family or a lump sum amount to enjoy LFC as prevalent in some of the Central government offices like NTPC
If any loan account become Non Performing asset Branch head is held responsible, similarly regional head should be held responsible if any officer becomes non-performer.
CBI should verify assets and Liability of top 20 executives and in any case of disproportionate assets there should be provision for immediate demotion and stern penalty.
To ensure qualitative financing bank should avoid putting pressure on officers for achievement of targets. Rather those officers who extend quality credit more than their expected level should be awarded suitably.
Performance linked variable pay as proposed by management and Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee should be well defined to avoid whimsical and biased use of this provision.
Banks management should not be allowed to directly recruit Marketing officer or Customer relation Executives or any other officer by paying higher package and deprive the same package to those officers who are doing better for last two three decades. In the name of outsourcing of work there is genuine apprehension of creping of corrupt practices in the banking industry. This fear will be substantiated when corrupt practices prevailing in the tender system for awarding contract for various renovation works or for furnishing of branches is investigated thoroughly by a honest team of officer of either different bank or even different department.
Danendra Jain
Agartala
22nd December 2009
CAclubindia
