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Increasing Frauds and Staff Shortage in Union Bank of India: AIUBEA Demands Immediate Action
Union Bank of India faces increasing fraud incidents, primarily due to staff shortages and heavy workloads. The All India Union Bank Employees Association (AIUBEA) has urged immediate recruitment to fill vacant positions.
Author: Abhivad
Published: July 2, 2024
The Union Bank of India is facing a surge in fraud incidents, with recent cases reported in the Singhia Ghat branch in Bihar and the Balwani Branch in the Ahmed Nagar Region of Maharashtra. These incidents highlight the vulnerabilities in the bank's operations, primarily attributed to staff shortages and increased workloads.
AIUBEA Raises Understaffing Issues
In response to the increasing number of fraud cases, the All India Union Bank Employees Association (AIUBEA) has written a letter to A. Manimekalai, MD & CEO of Union Bank of India. The General Secretary of AIUBEA, N. Shankar, emphasised the need for immediate recruitment to fill vacant positions. "More frauds are surfacing due to inadequate permanent staff in branches," Shankar stated in the letter.
(AIUBEA’s letter to MD & CEO of Union Bank of India)
The letter criticized the current staffing policies, which have led to the employment of temporary staff to handle essential operations. "The real issue is the ever-increasing workload and the non-availability of permanent clerical staff," the letter noted. The AIUBEA claims that this has resulted in breaches of checks and balances, enabling frauds to occur.
AIUBEA also addressed the media portrayal of the frauds, which suggests that casual employees are to blame. "Media has projected these frauds as being perpetrated by daily wagers, creating a misleading narrative," Shankar wrote. He cautioned against any knee-jerk reactions that might unfairly penalize these employees, whose roles are already under litigation.
Call for Recruitment
The letter highlighted the disparity in staffing, with nearly five officers per branch compared to 2.6 clerks per branch. "Bank has lost its cost-effectiveness by employing more officers than needed to work as clerks," Shankar stated. AIUBEA has been urging the bank to conduct an assessment of clerical requirements based on business volume and workload for the past four years.
The issue is scheduled for discussion in the IRM Meeting in the first week of July 2024. "We hope the bank will do the needful in assessing the exact requirement of clerks and take steps to recruit employees accordingly," Shankar concluded. The letter was also copied to key officials, including the Executive Directors and the Secretary of the Department of Financial Services for further action.
Worries of staff shortages causing significant operational challenges, leading to increased workloads for existing employees and compromising the effectiveness of checks and balances have been reported across Public Sector Banks (PSBs). This situation not only hampers day-to-day operations but also increases the risk of fraud and financial discrepancies. Bank employees have been demanding adequate recruitment in PSBs to tackle these challenges.