Bank of Baroda Officers urge Zonal Head to improve Work Environment in Baroda

Bank of Baroda Officers’ Association has written a letter to the Zonal Head of Baroda Zone to improve work environment in the zone. Recently, Bank of Baroda Chief Manager in Baramati Pune Died by Suicide Due to Work Pressure. Reports suggest that extreme work-related stress and relentless performance pressure lead to such disastrous step.

Total Business of Bank of Baroda is Rs.24 lakh crores. Total number of Employees is 73,666 and Employee-to-Business Ratio is the highest in the Indian banking industry. Thus, it’s highly important for bank to improve work environment and well-being of employees.

The association has raised an important question of staff shortage in Baroda Zone.

Particulars	Approximate Figures
Total Scale I, II & III Officers	1,078
Officers in Administrative Offices	334
Officers Posted in Branches	744
Total Number of Branches	260
Average Officers per Branch	2.84

Single-Officer Branches (By Region)

Region	No. of Single-Officer Branches
Baroda City II	11
Baroda District	4
Dahod	13
Godhra	14
Total	42

These branches are often in remote/rural areas, with no alternate staff during leave or emergencies.

Bank of Baroda employees are currently facing a range of operational and human resource challenges that are impacting their efficiency and morale. One of the key issues is system inefficiency—frequent delays in the Core Banking Solution (CBS), repeated glitches with Customer Information Files (CIFs), and lag in systems like SMAX and RMenu are disrupting daily operations.

Staff also struggle with more than 20 different digital platforms and tools such as CRM, OCRMS, LLPS, and OCTMS, all of which are complex and time-consuming. Adding to the burden is the overload of campaigns and initiatives pushed from various levels—Bank’s Corporate Centre (BCC), Head Office, Zonal and Regional Offices—ranging from special campaigns and weekly thematic events to regulatory and compliance tasks, which must be managed alongside routine branch work.

This multitasking has negatively affected customer service, as employees are unable to devote adequate time to each customer. Moreover, despite many service-related issues arising from Alternate Delivery Channels (ADCs) like ATMs, passbook printers, SMS alerts, and cheque/ATM deliveries, it is the branch staff who are held responsible and required to respond to these complaints—most of which are beyond their control.

On the human resource front, there are growing concerns about the denial of medical or emergency leave, frequent late working hours, and early or arbitrary staff transfers that affect morale and performance. In some cases, officers remain in administrative roles beyond the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) prescribed three-year limit, while frontline branches continue to suffer from manpower shortages.

Daily target pressure combined with system restrictions during End of Day (EOD) operations adds to employee stress. Sudden meetings and frequent monitoring calls from RO, ZO, HO, and BCC further disrupt branch functioning and reduce productivity. These challenges reflect the urgent need for streamlined systems, realistic expectations, and better support for branch staff to ensure smooth operations and quality customer service.

Demands of Association

The association has put forward following demands:

1. Complete abolition of Single Men branches in Baroda Zone.
2. Evaluate the available human hours in branches before introducing new actionable task.
3. Focus on Quantum of business not number of Accounts.
4. Approve all medical and emergency leaves without undue scrutiny.
5. Cease arbitrary transfers; adhere to a structured and fair HR policy.
6. Ensure gender safety, particularly during late working hours.
7. Adhere to CVC norms by rotating admin staff timely.
8. Define realistic targets; remove punitive EOD restrictions.
9. Avoid after-hours meetings unless absolutely necessary.
10. Launch mental health and wellness initiatives for officers.
11. Rationalize campaigns; focus on core banking operations.
12. Reallocate excess admin staff to frontline branches urgently.
13. Prohibit weekend/holiday work-related calls.
14. Ensure proper resource planning before introducing new tasks.
15. Process sabbaticals and VRS requests with fairness and transparency.