Indian Bank employees held a protest on Friday to raise their voices about long-standing problems that have not yet been solved. The protest was organized by the Federation of Indian Bank Employees Unions (FIBEU), and many employees from different branches joined in.
The employees raised several important demands. First, they want the bank to hire enough clerical staff, sub-staff, sweepers, and drivers to fill all the vacant posts on a regular basis. Right now, many of these positions are still unfilled, which is putting extra pressure on the existing staff. They also want the bank to quickly implement a proper transfer policy for employees, especially after the merger of Allahabad Bank with Indian Bank. Many employees are still waiting for fair transfers as per the new structure.
Another major demand is the immediate processing of pending compassionate appointments. These are jobs given to the family members of employees who passed away while in service. The employees also asked for fair wages and bonus payments to temporary workers, along with the regularization of their services.
During the protest, FIBEU secretary-general E Arunachalam explained that between 1997 and 2000, when the bank was going through a tough financial phase, hiring was stopped. But since then, the bank has improved a lot and has even made good profits over the past twenty years. Despite this progress, the hiring of sub-staff and sweepers has still not been properly done. While some clerical staff have been recruited, it is not enough to match the growing business and workload in bank branches.
He pointed out that many branches are running with fewer employees than needed. As a result, the available staff are under a lot of pressure, and customers often get angry and shout at them because of delays in service. The protest was a way for the employees to ask the bank management to take their problems seriously and find quick solutions to ensure smooth functioning and fair treatment for all workers.
