When the nationwide lockdown was declared in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly everyone was asked to stay home -- with the exception of a select few upon whom it fell to ensure the sick are cared for, law and order is maintained and the wheels of nation’s economy keep spinning to deliver essential goods and services.
But while the role of healthcare workers and the police has been rightly acknowledged, one sector will perhaps emerge as one of the nation’s unsung heroes: banks.
In a series of conversations with CNBC-TV18, public sector bankers talked about the problems they have faced during the lockdown.
The biggest problem bankers face is the lack of consistent guidelines, says Soumya Datta, General Secretary of the All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC), who adds that he has written to the Finance Ministry, RBI and other bodies, asking for directions with respect to safety practices, security management and even how leaves should be treated during the lockdown.
Sanitisation
”Daily sanitisation of bank branches is a far-fetched idea. The branches are not even sanitised once a week,” says a senior manager of a nationalised branch.
The situation with ATMs -- which have frequent-contact surfaces such as touchpad – is similar. The management of ATMs is typically sub-contracted to agencies but the absence of clear guidelines on sanitation means customers are effectively on their own when visiting ATMs, says the banker quoted above.
The banker adds that when the lockdown was imposed, branches were given Rs 1,000 to stock up essentials such as masks, gloves, and sanitisers. With more than three months since the lockdown was imposed, no additional money was allocated towards this. ”We are now on our own,” says the manager.
Some branches do not even have equipment for regular temperature checks, he adds.
Transportation
When the lockdown was imposed, some banks could not make provisions for transportation of their employees. Some employees who were away from their branches were deputised to branches close to them.
Banks also weren’t clear on whether staff would be reimbursed to additional expenses they incurred while getting to work.
Besides, guidelines on how to treat absenteeism for staff that couldn’t turn up weren’t issued – and when issued later by the IBA, weren’t implemented.
Security management and infrastructure
When the first relief package of Rs 1.70 lakh crore was announced by the Finance Minister, banks, especially those in the rural areas, saw a rush for people wanting to withdraw money credited to them under the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana.
The situation continues to remain bad, especially in some rural bank branches.
”Social-distancing norms have gone for a toss. People don’t even wear masks. As long as I keep telling them to maintain distance, they will do it. When I leave, they go back to crowding the branch,” says a senior manager of a rural branch of IOB.
Banks also become victims of rumour-mongering. “Customers would come and say someone told them that if they did not withdraw money immediately, the government would take it back,” the IOB branch manager adds.
If an employee tests positive at a particular branch, authorities seal the entire branch, points out one of the bankers spoke to above.
With about 1,000 employees testing positive so far, including 30 deaths, public sector bankers rue the lack of support and recognition they deserve.
"The services we provide are essential too. We have fulfilled all expectations but many of our demands have gone unaddressed. We are Corona Warriors too,” says Dutta, General Secretary of bank officers body AIBOC.
