The Thrissur-based Dhanlaxmi Bank, which is a banker to more than 1,200 temple trusts in Kerala, is in troubled waters yet again. After showing the door to 500 Cost to The Company (CTC) employees last month, the bank has now released a mass transfer order to 105 employees in Kerala to northern states.
The 800-odd employees, who come under the CTC category, are now protesting against the decision. Recently they staged a dharna in front of the head office of the bank in Thrissur and zonal office in Ernakulam.
The agitation, which was backed by the Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), is going to gain momentum in the coming days as they are planning to take out protest marches in various regional offices, said organisers of the protest.
“While the CTC employees have been given transfer orders, new employees are taking their place in the bank. Last month 100 new appointments were made.
“We believe that bribe to the tune of `10-15 lakh was offered for every recruitment. Around 800 CTC employees are there in the bank. Out of which around 650 are from Kerala. The transfer orders have been given to the employees in order to terminate their service stating poor performance,” said R Sivakumar, joint convener, Dhanlaxmi Bank CTC Employees Co-ordination Committee.
According to experts, the continuous problems in the bank will affect the 14 lakh-odd customers of the bank. According to V K Prasad, former secretary, All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), the Dhanlaxmi Bank Management is pushing the employees into strike.
“All the CTC employees have an experience of over three years. We are ready to accept the Indian Bank’s Association (IBA) salary structure, which is 40 per cent lesser from the current salary.
“The average age of the CTC employees are in the range of 30-35, majority of them are newly married.
If they are shown the door they will struggle to make both ends meet,” Sivakumar added.
However, P G Jayakumar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dhanlaxmi Bank, has denied the allegations.