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There is growing concern that public sector banks are ‘progressively reducing indents’ for recruitment year after year.
The headcount number is sought to be reduced even as banks find it difficult to serve customers thanks to an expanding bouquet of services and schemes, according to the unions.
REDUCING INDENTS
This is unacceptable, said C.H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary, All India Bank Employees' Association, in a letter to peer unions in the industry.
The reducing indents would result in short supply of clerical staff, even for filling up vacancies arising on account of retirements and promotion, leave alone extra staff required as part of business expansion.
Venkatachalam said that there appeared to be a design in the reduced intake of clerical staff, in particular. He requested peer unions to take up this matter seriously with the respective banks.
He cited statistics to drive home the point that available manpower in banks has failed increasingly to sync with the increased business volumes during the past three years.
‘WORRISOME TREND’
At the end of 2013-14, the banks had deposits worth Rs 65.9 lakh crore, Rs 51 lakh crore in advances and Rs 116 lakh crore in total business. The number of workmen in public sector banks was 4.99 lakh.
In the next year (2014-15), the deposits had grown to Rs 71.95 lakh crore, advances to Rs 54.76 lakh crore and total business to Rs 126 lakh crore. But the number of workmen had reduced to 4.84 lakh.
The number of workmen employed reduced further to 4.79 lakh in 2015-16 even as deposits grew to Rs 74. 86 lakh crore, advances to Rs 55.94 lakh crore and total business of public sector banks rose to Rs 130 lakh crore.
This is a worrisome trend, and had to be reversed even if it warranted industrial level strike action, Venkatachalam told fellow unions.
STATISTICS SPEAK
According to statistics put out by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), the reduced level for recruitment is evident in the indents for 2017-18 and proposed for 2018-19.
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