People with visually impairment who work at banks complained that some of them are not provided with tools, such as screen readers, required to perform their job.
At the first general body meeting of Visually Impaired Bank Employees Welfare Association (VIBEWA) held in Secunderabad on Sunday, members of the association have resolved to pursue departments concerned to address their issues, including money allotted for commuting between home and office.
Around 4,000 people who are visually challenged or have low vision -- work at various banks across the country. Most of them are allotted jobs which does not include financial transactions. Rather, they are assigned posts in accounts, data processing, credit appraisal, risk management, academic faculty posts.
Listing out the problems faced by the employees, president of the association Rajesh H Asudani said according to a study conduct by them among 450 bank employees with the impairment, they got to know that some of the banks do not provide screen readers and magnifiers to them. Besides, they are not exempted from transfers.
General secretary of the association, Krishnamurthy, said that after getting into a job, a few banks do not assign them a post as the banks do not have tools which help the employees do their jobs. They have also pointed out that the employees with visual impairment are deprived of promotions though they are eligible for it.
Inadequate special conveyance allowance of only ₹ 400 per month too was pointed at the meeting. The employees said that because of problems with mobility, they either have to hire cabs or autos to reach their place of work from their home, which escalates cost of commuting.
At the end of the meeting, they have resolved to pursue departments concerned to increase the allowance reasonably, to promptly implement guidelines issued by Department of Personnel and Training.
