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Reduced working hours, five days working per week, working with reduced staff, and hub banking, have been mooted to ensure safety of the bank employees and customers from the pandemic.
The seven-point suggestions to create a “strong shield of safety to banks’ workforce and customers” had been put forward by United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) in addition to the 13-point advisory given by SLBC to the member banks to comply with.
As done last year during the lockdown months, the UFBU has said there is an urgent necessity to restrict physical banking for next four to six months and to reduce working hours from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Secondly, banking should be restricted to five days a week to break the chain. This would cut the exposure of the bank staff and the customers to a great extent without impairing services.
In a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, forum convenor C.D. Josson has said all the banks should be asked to deploy minimum possible staff/officers at branches/offices. Measures like working with one third, half of staff strength, and work from home, should be implemented for four to six months. Staff and officers should be asked to work on rotation.
Instead of opening all branches at multi-centres, numbers may be restricted in such a manner that banking facilities could be extended at select branches.
All segments of society—commercial organisations, State/Central/banks/PSUs—should be directed to work only during stipulated hours. The time of working should be deferred so that the footfalls and traffic on road is reduced and congregations are minimised.
Considering the nature of work to come in contact with hundreds of customers every day, bankmen carry higher risk and steps should be taken to initiate measures to provide vaccination to all employees and their family members. Exemption has sought for employees with existing co-morbidities, pregnant employees, and persons with disabilities from duty.
