We have already published the Minutes of the meeting held on 02.07.2012 under the chairmanship of Secretary (Financial Services) to review the financial performance of RRBs.
AIRRBEA reacts to these dangerous decisions sharply. The letter written by Com.D.K.Mukherjee, Secretary General of AIRRBEA is published hereunder.
All India Regional Rural Bank Employees Association
(A Coordinating Body of National Federation of RRB Officer & National Federation of RRB Employees)
President: Ajit Ghosh GOLDERS GREEN, Ground Floor F .G. Block
Secretary General: Dilip Kumar Mukherjee 1, Nazrul Islam Avenue (V.I.P. ROAD)
Kaikhali, Kolkata – 52
Re. No. – 558 Date:- 13.07.2012
To
Shri D. K. Mittal
Secretary,
Financial Services,
Ministry of Finance,
Govt. of India
Sir,
Sub:- Minutes of the meeting held on 02.07.2012 under the chairmanship of Secretary (Financial Services) to review the financial performance of RRBs
We like to draw your kind attention to the following resolutions of the above noted meeting:-
1) While considering the requirement of additional staff, RRBs should take into account productivity norms and need of redeployment. Any RRB which has per employee net profit less than 5 lakh must not recruit more than one-fortieth of present strength in any year.
2) With the introduction of technology such as ATMs, RRBs will require lesser staff strength. Therefore, RRBs should assess staff requirement carefully. It should be need based and value based and there should not be indiscriminate recruitment.
3) Thorat Committee recommendations are separately being reviewed. in view of technological advancement and CBS, the norms prescribed by the Committee are no longer relevant. Sponsor Banks also need to have a fresh look at succession plan prepared by the RRBs.
We are constrained to believe that all the above resolutions are aimed at halting the process of recruitment and promotion in the RRBs as per “Manpower Planning” to be decided by the RRB in terms of Govt. order dt. 12.09.2008 based on the recommendations of “Thorat Committee” appointed by GOI in October, 2007 with Smt. Sukriti Likhi, Director, Financial Service as one of the member. These recommendations were approved by Shri P. Chidambaram, the then Finance Minister, GOI with modifications.
We are strongly opposed to the idea of delegating again the power to Sponsor Banks in the area of manpower planning as suggested in the resolutions that:- “Sponsor Banks also need to have a fresh look at succession plan prepared by the RRBs” since it goes against the very sprit of the recommendation of both Thorat Committee and Dr. Chakrabarty Committee (CRAR) in favour of “Full Autonomy” in the area of “Manpower Planning to the Board of Management having 3 members from the Sponsor Banks”. This resolution also goes against the “Statutory Provisions” incorporated in the “RRB Staff Recruitment-cum-Promotion Rules, 2010”
Notified by GOI on 13.07.2010 (Provision no. 5 of the Rule). For any such resolution /decision /suggestion, “Rules” are to be amended. We have our experiences of delay /denial by the Sponsor Banks for months together in case of such proposals placed by RRB before 2010 which has given “Full Autonomy” to the Board for creation of vacancies.
In fact, virtually there was no recruitment at all in the RRBs from the year 1990 to 2008. The staff strength reduced from 70000 in 1993 to 68000 in 2009, (as per NABARD Statistics), where as the volume of business multiplied about 10 times and there is diversification of portfolios by many folds. Adding to this, the retirements have also commenced in large number and are going to be en masse from the year 2015. The attrition rate in RRBs in all the regions excepting North East is too high.
We are of the same opinion that Thorat Committee recommendation needs further improvement for the following new developments.
- Introduction of CBS with the requirement of minimum two officers as “Maker” and ‘Checker” at all the branches linked with CBS to avoid fraud and corruption.
- Massive expansion of branches under “Financial Inclusion” programme. The RRBs have opened more than 900 branches in the 2011-12.
- Introduction of MNREGA programme which along with other Govt. programmes mainly linked with RRBs at the rural area takes more than 25%, if not more, of the time and energy of the workforce in RRBs.
- In case of NPA for agril /rural credit for small / marginal farmers, regular and personal contact with the borrower by “Filed Officer” is required since such small loans in good numbers normally cannot be “written off”. Now more than 2000 rural branches are having only one Officer without any clerk or one clerk without any officer. Naturally, recovery portfolio can hardly be managed.
The new H.R. Committee may be appointed by GOI without any “hidden mandate” to consider the above developments along with the recommendations of Parliament Standing Committee (Subordinate Legislation) which has moved all parts of the country and interacted with all sections of related organizations /customers.
This is for your consideration and appropriate action.
Yours faithfully
Dilip Kumar Mukherjee
Secretary General, AIRRBEA
Copy for information and necessary action to:
Executive Director (IDD), NABARD
Chief General Manager(IDD), NABARD
Chairman, all RRBs
Dilip Kumar Mukherjee
Secretary General, AIRRBEA
Very good, No trade union is here to react sharply
ReplyDeleteexcept AIRRBEA, Let us struggle