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VRS-hit banks in redeployment mode

K Ram Kumar

Many public sector banks have started re-deploying employees from their administrative offices, which have traditionally been overstaffed, to the branch-level. The move comes in wake of a near 15 per cent depletion in the workforce of the banks with around 8,65,000 opting for voluntary retirement. The golden handshake in 26 of the 27 banks has created a temporary deficit of manpower at the branches, and hence the shift is aimed at tackling the problem of understaffed branches.

"This situation has arisen because of the inefficiency of bank management to ensure mobility of manpower from surplus pockets (administrative offices) to areas of deficit (branches)," said a leading expert on banking and finance.

Post-VRS, banks have not been able to streamline operations at the branch level in semi-urban and rural areas, since agreements with employees unions prevent clerical cadre employees to be posted beyond 50 kilometres from their place of residence.

"Unless mobility of bank staff, from one city to another, one branch to another and administrative units to the operating units, is ensured the manpower deficit at the branch level will lead to business and customer dissatisfaction," he said.

Many banks -- Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Union Bank of India, UCO Bank among others -- have reduced the four-tier organisational structure to a three-tier structure, by doing away with zonal offices.

A senior bank official pointed out that administrative offices of state-run banks (regional, zonal and head offices) were overstaffed and the excess staff could be moved out to handle field (operational) work. "It's a hobson's choice for the state-owned banks. In the face of relentless competition from private sector and foreign banks via superior services, the least that the PSBs can do is to prevent customer service from getting disrupted for want of staff," he explained.

Through enhanced use of technology in operations, further reduction in manpower, particularly in the clerical and sub-staff cadre, was possible without hampering either banks' businesses or their bottomlines.

Of the total officer strength of 2,38,116 in the PSBs, 27 per cent have taken VRS. In the clerical cadre 11 per cent of the total workforce of 4,33,666 have opted for the golden handshake, while in the sub-staff category, 7 per cent of the 1,91,335 work force have taken voluntary retirement.

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