SBIOA NE circle appeals for safety of all state bankers

Shillong, Mar 31: The State Bank of India Officers
Association (North Eastern Circle), have appealed to the government and
administration to ensure the safety of all its members by ensuring necessary
equipment are available to them, and to ensure they are not harassed by police
officials while commuting.
Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, the Association, in a statement, revealed that they are facing several constraints while rendering their services for the public.
“However, in spite of putting all our efforts, we have been facing several like sufficient number of hand sanitizers, masks, gloves, etc. are not available in the market and as such we have to face the customers and handle the bank notes without enough protection,” the statement read.
SBIOA NE circle said that they have explored all possible avenues from their end but their efforts were futile.
“Under the given circumstances, we understand that facing numerous customers and handling the cash, which could be a major carrier of germs, is a very risky proposition,” the Association stated.
They also revealed that several cases have been reported where bank officers and employees face the wrath of police deployed in the streets to restrict public movement.
“Perhaps the Police personnel were not properly counselled by the administration that our job comes under the Essential Services Maintenance Act and any restriction in our movement will act as a hindrance in rendering our services. We put forward our request to make sure that the bankers are not harassed anywhere by the police while commuting,” the statement added.
Please don’t wait till the virus starts transmission from some banker , reduce the footfall in branches of customers as well as the employees.social distancing cannot be followed strictly if all employees are instructed to attend the branches.proper safety kit like gloves,mask are to be provided regularly and not just once since these are not reusable.Rotation of duties on alternate days can be done since only essential banking transactions is being extended to the public.Our management should understand the gravity of this catastrophe before it’s too late.