Performance Review of Employees at the Age of 55

These are days when not a day passes where a Public Sector Bank employee, somewhere in the country, is attacked, verbally and physically, for no fault of his/her and mostly due to the additional work load, a resultant of unplanned implementation of government schemes, on a sector which is already burdened with heavy workload. Thanks to quixotic recruitment policies which aims at a lopsided pyramid of staff strength.

And now comes another salvo fired at Public Sector Bank employees in the form of a government directive to review the performance of its employees at the age of 50 for officers or 25 years of service in State Bank of India, at the age of 55 or 30 years of service in Nationalised Banks, 58 years and above for clerks and substaff in SBI and 57 years and above for clerks and substaff in Nationalised Banks.

Banks can retire an officer prematurely by giving 3 months’ notice/pay and can retire a clerk or substaff by giving 2 months’ notice/pay and they are to submit monthly report to the government on the number of staff so retired.

The last few years of service is very crucial as it will make a substantial difference in the retirement benefits of employees. Apart from this, it will affect the morality and efficiency of the employees who will always be on tenterhooks, not knowing when their service will end.  Employees who are already overburdened with ever increasing workload and now with enhanced duties, would somehow wish to retire only on superannuation as guaranteed by the industry-wise bipartite settlements as they have been recruited after qualifying various examinations and interviews. The present directive from the Government sets to abuse and question this very process through which employees and officers are recruited. The already battered and bruised morale of the bank employees will be further shattered by this totalitarian and anti-employee attitude of the present Government.

With lakhs of vacancies remaining unfulfilled resulting in ever increasing work pressure on existing employees and officers, this directive which aims to further reduce the staff strength in Public Sector Banks will only exacerbate the existing perennial problem.  The need of the hour is to augment staff strength by mass recruitment of clerks, substaff and junior officers who form the backbone of any bank branch, who directly cater to the needs of the customers and NOT to intimidate and threaten the senior employees with forcible retirements.

All the employees of Public Sector Banks under the banner of United Forum of Bank Unions should rise in unison against this draconian directive of the Government which is a direct threat to the BASIC RIGHT of EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE.  Any procrastination by the employees and Unions would result in our hard-won rights being frittered away. This is no time to think. Plunge into action to make the Government withdraw this retrograde directive which is a direct threat to Bank Employees’ and Officers’ Basic Rights.

{ This article is originally published in bankworkersunity ]