In Shimla, contract workers from the State Bank of India (SBI), affiliated with the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), gathered outside the bank’s regional office in Kasumpti on Friday to protest against their poor working conditions. The workers raised slogans and voiced their concerns about long working hours and low pay. They allege that they are forced to work for 12 hours daily without receiving even the minimum wage.
During the protest, CITU state president Vijendra Mehra spoke out about the violation of labor laws at the SBI regional office. He explained that workers are made to start their duties at 8 am, before the office gets busy, and continue working until 8 pm when everyone else leaves. Mehra pointed out that according to labor laws, any employee who works beyond their regular hours should be paid double the normal wage for overtime. However, he claimed this rule is being ignored at this office.
Other CITU leaders, including District Secretary Ramakant Mishra, Ranjeev Kuthia, and Himi Devi, joined the protest and highlighted further issues faced by the workers. They said that in addition to not receiving the proper overtime pay, the employees are not granted their entitled holidays. This includes both weekly holidays and other mandatory leave. They warned that if their demands were not addressed, they would escalate their protest.
After the demonstration, a delegation from CITU met with the chief manager of the SBI regional office and submitted a formal letter outlining their demands. Vijendra Mehra stated that the chief manager had promised to resolve the issues within a month.
The protest was attended by several union members, including Ram Prakash, Mehar Singh Pal, Dimple (Union President), Rakesh (General Secretary), Bhupinder (Treasurer), and many others.
The SBI contract workers union also highlighted several specific tasks that employees are made to do without compensation. These include opening and closing the bank, handling vouchers, distributing mail, serving water, making tea, cleaning utensils, doing peon work, paying bills, filling forms for government schemes like the Atal Pension Yojana and Jeevan Jyoti Yojana, and even opening bank accounts for customers. Despite carrying out all these duties, workers are not provided with the travel allowance (TA) they are entitled to, and they have to pay for their uniforms. Additionally, they do not receive salary slips, EPF annual statements, or even identity cards.
The protest by the SBI contract workers highlights serious concerns regarding their working conditions and the violation of labor rights. The workers are demanding fair wages, proper leave, and other basic benefits, and they are waiting for the management to address these issues as promised.
