Sunday, March 3, 2013

Youth Rush For Bank Job


An article is published in a newspaper which depicts wrong picture of bank job. This says that bank job has regained the lost shine of bank officers post. This says that youth now prefer bank job because it is safe and is having time bound working hours.

Bitter truth is that unemployed youth are rushing for bank job only because there is no alternative available in the market. As a matter of fact banks did not recruit officers or clerks to the extent they needed during last two decades despite large scale branch expansion which has resulted in acute manpower shortage. Every banker and customer knows that banks have added hundreds of new branches during last two three years without addition of proportionate manpower. Every branch of every Bank has to work under acute manpower shortage and hence bank officers have to sit late and work on Sundays and holidays too neglecting their duties towards their family and society.

As such it is wrong to say that bank employees work for limited hours. The bitter truth is that bank employees have to work for minimum 12 hours a day and that too under an atmosphere which is not conducive for working and where even self respect is sacrificed. This is normally very much troublesome and hence attrition rate in banks is the highest during last decade in India.

The biggest lie reported in this news is that SBI is offering Rs.69000/ p.m. to newly recruited probationary officers in scale I. The fact is that even majority of officers who have worked in a bank for more than 30 years are not getting Rs.69000/ p.m.  It is to be mentioned here that heads of some banks are fraudulently recruiting officers ( to employ their kith and kin or to help friends and relatives ) directly in scale III or IV or V and offering higher pay which is completely unethical, unjustified, illegal and improper.

Officers who have been working in in bank in different scales and in different capacities and who have gained experience of more than three decades are not paid Rs.69000/  if he is not Yes-man of top executives. This is because yes-man get quicker promotions and get higher pay scale whereas non flatterers do not get promotion even in two or three decades and due to which such seniors are facing stagnation for more than a decade and earning no annual increment and hence they are drawing salary less than an fresher fraudulently recruited in scale III or IV.

Unemployment in India has grown at fast rate in India than the rate at which job opportunities are created. IT sector is facing recession to some extent. Government departments other than banks have not recruited manpower almost during last two decades in want of paying capacity. Banks had also stopped recruitment. But since they are forced to open hundreds of branches to please the political masters and to achieve the imposed and forced target of Financial Inclusion .This is the reason that banks are now in a mood to clear the two decade long backlog of manpower to serve the political agenda of their masters. Though banks are facing profit erosion, they are ready to recruit additional manpower. In fact there is no rise in total manpower in last two decades.

So far as the youth are concerned, they undertake higher studies like that of MBA or BE after spending lacs of rupees either from their own sources or from loan availed from banks. When they do not find any job after the completion of study they are served notice from their lenders for repayment of job or they are humiliated from friends and family members for not getting job even after getting higher and prestigious degrees. This is why youth after completing their education face frustration and depression and are left no alternative but to accept bank job so that they may at least run their family for the period they get a better job in other sectors.

Bank jobs are now in big demand 

( published in Business Line )

    G. NAGA SRIHDAR
    M. SOMASEKHAR

Bank jobs, especially for the post of probationary officers, were very popular ...
    Can one even think of a Harvard graduate applying for a clerical job in a bank? Well, think again.
    According to Jyothi Ghosh, Chief General Manager, State Bank of Hyderabad, a candidate from Harvard attended the interview but was not selected because the bank felt he was ‘overqualified’ and would definitely leave at the first good offer.
    This could point to two trends. First, the rising popularity of bank jobs. It is estimated that over 60,000 clerks and officers will be recruited this year by public sector banks. And, second, lucrative corporate openings are shrinking.
    Bank jobs, especially for the post of probationary officers, were very popular and next only to the all-India Civil Services about 20-25 years ago. But, thanks to the IT boom, they soon lost steam.
    But now the interest is back. Engineers, IT professionals, management grads are all flocking to the banking space for a variety of reasons. “I am looking for a bank job because of financial security and comfortable working hours,” said K. Pratyusha, a former techie with Cognizant and a M.Tech (VLSI Design) from Vellore Institute of Technology
    “For women, working hours in IT are not convenient,” she added.
    “The career development opportunities and economic environment are behind the current interest in a career in banking,” M. Bhagavantha Rao, Managing Director, State Bank of Hyderabad, said. The security of tenure and unavoidable ups and downs in the IT industry are also luring youth to bank jobs. “The IT/BPO jobs are no longer attractive due to uncertainty and recent dip in remuneration packages,” pointed out C. S. Vepa, Director of National School of Banking.

    BETTER SALARIES

    The salary package in banks has also improved substantially. For instance, State Bank of India is offering up to Rs 69,000 a month for a probationary officer in Mumbai, and in other cities, about Rs 50,000.
    As per information from banks, over 10,000 vacancies are likely to be filled up in the next 4-5 months.
    Over 60,000 new employees will be needed in the current financial year for replacing those retiring and on account of branch expansions.

No comments:

Post a Comment