This holiday weekend, PNB staff will be on ‘cleanliness’ duty

After being hit by the Nirav Modi-perpetrated scam, it’s now time for the employees of Punjab National Bank to bear the brunt of its fallout.

As the bank grapples with a range of issues, senior bank officials have been tasked with conducting inspections.

And, as part of the preparations for the visit of higher officials to respective branches, the staff have now been asked to turn up at the branches even on bank holidays for the “cleanliness” drive.

An internal circular, issued from the head office to respective branches through the zonal offices, has asked employees to be at the branches during the forthcoming weekend holidays (February 24-25).

Fourth Saturdays and Sundays are normally holidays for banks.

The circular has requested the involvement of all staff members in the upkeep of the branch. The work includes rectifying signboards, white-washing, updating old records, disposing old and obsolete furniture, and sprucing up ATMs and e-lobbies.

The higher officials from zonal offices will visit the branches during the first week of March. A PNB official, who is also part of a union, claimed that most of employees were forced to comply.

T Narendran, president, Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), said the intention of the PNB management is not to address the real issue. They are hiding the real issue and searching the peripherals only, he said.

The ₹11,400 crore was sanctioned by the top management with the knowledge of the directors on the board, he alleged. “Why stringent action has not been taken against them?” he asked.

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