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AIRRBEA Decade Long Struggle Yields Victory: APGVB Regularises 460 Daily Wage Workers
Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank regularises 460 daily wage workers after years of legal battles, marking a significant victory for AIRRBEA. The move follows court orders and boosts employee morale, ensuring job stability.
Author: Saurav Kumar
Published: October 23, 2024
In a significant move, the Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB) has announced the regularisation of 460 casual/daily wage office attendants, following the directions of the Honourable High Court of Telangana. The official circular, issued on October 22, 2024, highlights the culmination of years of efforts and legal proceedings, marking a critical victory of the AIRRBEA led struggle of the workers involved.
The regularisation scheme was initially outlined in a circular dated June 13, 2024, after which personal hearings were conducted to assess the suitability of candidates. A total of 460 workers have now been found eligible for regularisation under Group C positions, as multi-purpose office attendants. The selection, however, remains subject to the outcomes of ongoing Writ Petitions and other court cases.
The selected employees will undergo medical examinations and other formalities in the coming days, while the bank has advised all its branches and offices to display the circular for wider dissemination among the workforce.
Resistance and Victory
An APGVB employee revealed to Kanal that daily wage workers with 10 to 20 years of service initially faced rejection from bank authorities when they sought regularisation. In 2014, these workers filed a case in the Telangana High Court, which ruled in their favour in 2018. However, the bank appealed this decision, only to face defeats both in the division bench and later in the Supreme Court in 2022.
Following these legal setbacks, the bank reluctantly introduced a scheme with unfavourable conditions aimed at regularising around 100 workers, hoping to resolve the matter. The workers, dissatisfied with these terms, challenged the scheme in a second round of litigation and once again received favourable court orders. Despite this, the bank challenged the latest judgement in the Supreme Court.
AIRRBEA Secretary General, S. Venkateswar Reddy, hailed this development as a major milestone and told Kanal, “460 daily wage casual workers are selected for regularisation in APGVB is another milestone achieved under the AIRRBEA flag. The relentless efforts of APGVB union leaders has paid off well. The achievement would boost the prospects and cause of workers in other RRBs.”
A Precedent for Public Sector Banks
Daily wage workers in Public Sector Banks (PSBs) continue to be an overburdened workforce, often facing the harsh treatment of bank management. In some cases, their wages have been unfairly reduced under the guise of cost-cutting measures.
The issue of regularising daily wage workers remains a pressing concern for PSBs, one that still demands proper attention and resolution. However, the recent decision to regularise 460 daily wage workers in APGVB offers hope. This long-awaited move is expected to significantly boost employee morale and provide much-needed stability to hundreds of families associated with the bank.