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Regional Rural Banks Grapple With 30,000 Vacancies: AIRRBEA Demands Swift Recruitment and Holistic Reforms
Regional Rural Banks face a critical staffing crisis with 30,000 vacancies, prompting urgent demands from AIRRBEA for swift recruitment and comprehensive reforms. Despite financial success, workforce shortages persist.
Author: Saurav Kumar
Published: December 18, 2023
In the ongoing saga of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in India, the All India Regional Rural Bank Employees’ Association (AIRRBEA) has raised a red flag, emphasising the pressing need to fill 30,000 vacant positions across various RRBs.
The demand was formally presented during a submission to the representative of the bank on December 6, citing prolonged delays in both promotions and recruitments in specific RRBs.
Demands apart from recruitment placed by the AIRRBEA are:
- Promotion of officers as many of the RRB branches are being headed by the lower scale officers.
- Implementation of Computer increments in the RRB branches.
- And issuance of the transport allowance.
RRBs are government owned scheduled commercial banks of India that operate at regional level in different states of India. These banks are under the ownership of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Sponsored Bank and concerned State Government. They were created to serve rural areas with basic banking and financial services.
Agitation on the Horizon
Expressing dissatisfaction with the non-responsive approach of the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, and the Department of Financial Services, AIRRBEA announced a series of agitational programs and strike actions across all 43 RRBs. These actions aim to address issues such as the regularisation of daily wages/part-time/casual workers, wage revision, proper implementation of pension parity, and payment of gratuity as per service rules.
AIRRBEA came into existence in 1978 and is a confederation of the National Federation of RRB Officers and the National Federation of RRB Employees.
S. Venkateswar Reddy, Secretary General of AIRRBEA, shed light on the conservative figures, stating that, “RRBs had identified 30,000 vacant posts, a number shared with NABARD and the Ministry of Finance. The deliberate delay in filling vacancies have compelled the association to resort to agitation.”
RRBs Growth
Despite these challenges, RRBs showcased remarkable financial performance in FY 2022-23, reporting a net profit of approximately Rs 4974 crore. Out of 43 RRBs, 37 operated in profit, and the collective business figure crossed the Rs 10 Trillion mark.
Image: Figures of RRB
Image Credit: AIRRBEA
Amid the affirmative financial performance, the RRBs are in a paradox of financial success against a backdrop of understaffing. This poses a complex scenario for the regional banks.