The entire country has recently been rocked by protests over the contractual recruitment scheme Agnipath in the Indian Army. A section of the youth community has taken to the streets to demand its withdrawal. In this situation, some state-owned banks have started recruiting staff in a somewhat similar manner. According to sources, this list includes State Bank, Bank of Baroda and some other names. There is contract recruitment mainly in some posts of officer grade. In addition to ordinary people, a section of high-ranking officials are also there. A few days ago, permanent staff were appointed to those posts.
Unions allege that the Modi government has thus opened the way for stealth hiring of contractual workers in the banking industry as well. There is an attempt to get a model like Agnipath to work at a low cost everywhere. Those who are given temporary jobs will also be deprived in many ways. According to a section of the concerned circles, the careers of many talented boys and girls can be ruined prematurely. There is also a risk of falling into financial uncertainty if no one gets a job after the end of the contract. Because, they are not given any additional benefits financially.
After the announcement of contract-based recruitment in the army last June, the opposition rallied against the project, questioning the true intentions of the Modi government. A series of public interest cases were filed against Agnipath. Questions have also been raised about the short-term contract-based recruitment policy in the bank. According to the concerned sources, both the salary and tenure of the posts being appointed are fixed in advance in the contract. As a result, there is no question of increasing it.
Details of the contract
A two to seven-year contract is being made at a monthly lump-sum salary. Whether it will be renewed after expiry will depend on the will of the bank authorities. In other words, the workers will not have any further opinions. Generally, there are no financial benefits apart from the lump sum salary. If someone is sent out for work for a period of time, he will be paid commuting fare and allowances at fixed rates. But the officers appointed on contract will not get pension or gratuity, said banking industry unions. According to them, as a result, those who will be out of work at the end of the contract, will not have any financial security. Then either you have to find a job somewhere else, or you have to retire and sit at home. The question of many is, is it easy to get a new job if someone’s contract ends at the age of 40?
Protest against the scheme
Unions have already protested against such contractual hiring. Sanjay Das, General Secretary of State-Owned Bank Officers Federation, said, “The bank authorities want to do the work with relatively less money in this new model of recruitment. The government can also shake off the responsibility of paying pension to those officers.”