Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, May 24: Though banking has been declared as an essential service by Ministry of Home Affairs and it’s employees as frontline workers by the Government serving people in the present COVID pandemic at the risk of their lives, the respective State and UT Governments including J&K have turned callous towards the banking employees by not bringing them under the priority list of vaccination.
This has been done despite the repeated pleas by All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC) to the Secretary Ministry of Health Services & Family Welfare turning its attention to MHA letter to Finance Ministry dated 12/5/2021 in which special recommendations were made for giving priority in vaccination to bank employees all over the country who are rendering a yeoman’s service to the people in this Pandemic and a letter written by Home Ministry to the Chief Secretaries of States and UTs in this regard.
There is also a lot of resentment among the bank employees over the attitude of State and UT Governments who have failed to keep these employees and their families in priority list of vaccination in view of increasing death rate among the banking staff due to COVID.
Strongly pleading for the vaccination of bank employees on priority basis all over the country as well as J&K Swaran Dass, general secretary All India Bank Officers Association (AIBOA), Northern India told Excelsior that respective State and UT Governments should honour the instructions of Home Ministry and Finance Ministry in this regard and accord priority to the vaccination of bank employees all over the country as they are dealing with public.
He said there is alarming death rate among bank employees all over the country which is 0.10 percent in comparison to 0.02 percent as average in the country. He said among the 13.50 lakh bank employees all over the country 1300 employees died due to COVID while discharging their duties in the banks. Even recently a head cashier of Union Bank of India died of COVID in Jammu who was working at its Bantalab Branch, he added.
He said the majority of employees in banks are below age of 45 and hence the special attention needs to be paid to them for vaccination.
He also alleged that Bank employees are also facing harassment through the hands of authorities while going to their offices in COVID curfew period as banks are to be kept open from 10 am to 2 pm but the staff faces harassment while coming or going to their offices despite pasting the stickers of bank on their vehicles. On many occasions, the authorities do not accept these stickers or I cards of employees and harass them. In this regard, he highlighted the recent case of Baramulla where a SBI Manager was harassed by the Additional Deputy Commissioner after thrashing him mercilessly. Not only in Baramulla but in other parts of country also the Bank employees are facing humiliation and harrassment while going to or coming out from their offices, which is very shameful, he alleged.
To highlight the plight of Banking Sector employees AIBOC national general secretary, Souma Datta in his recent letter to Rajesh Bushan Secretary, Ministry of Health Services and Family Welfare GoI has drawn his attention towards Parliamentary Standing Committee 299th report which has kept on record the services provided by banking employees to the nation during COVID and recommended that the vaccination of these employees be done on priority basis.
He also turned the attention of Health Ministry towards the letter written by Joint Secretary DFS vide letter number 12/1/2020 BO-II dated April 20 this year which has been addressed to all Chief Secretaries of States and UTs along with CEOs and MDs of all SCBs and IBA advising to consider for putting in place a special dispensation to enable officers and staff of banks abd other service providers to avail of vaccination on easily and on priority basis. This was consequent to the recognition given to bankers by Parliamentary Standing Committee of Home Affairs 299th report.
The letter said that in this regard no percpitable initiative has been taken by any State or UT Government except Arunachal Pradesh for arranging vaccination to the bank employees and workers as well as their other families on priority basis.
The bank employees organisation also drew the attention of the employees working in far flung areas where a branch has to cater to the needs of a huge population and in these branches due to huge rush employees are exposed to grave risk.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
