OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION (Affiliated to AIBOC) SIBOA Centre, Mission Quarters, -1, Website: www.siboa.in, Mob: 9387100334 ======CIRCULAR No. 12/2020-22 (TO MEMBERS ONLY) Dated: 01.07.2021

Dear Comrades,

As we ponder over the effectiveness of our fight against the second wave of the Pandemic and hope things getting back to normal, we all are aware that the relief is momentary and the danger that lurks around is far from over. With the threat of a third wave in the horizon, let us start the second quarter of this fiscal with an oath to prioritize the safety of our colleagues and family members as our primary duty. It is with a lot of pain that I pen down the names of our dear comrades Subalakshmi and Amrutha , who are not with us anymore, having succumbed to Covid related complications while in treatment. Bankers in general, being in the forefront of the work force, are exposed to the highest of risks with lowest measures of safety, it’s evident that preventive habits alone determine our survival. At the same time our beloved institution is in a process of a major transformation or like many of our superiors mentioned, “undergoing a major surgery” for our betterment and a competitive existence. In the process, we, being the only association for the officers in our institution, hold the responsibility to maintain a fair balance between the working conditions, job satisfaction and a suitable ambience at our work place to ease the transformation pain. This circular mainly focuses on concerns faced by the members, interventions we made and the issues we feel are to be seriously addressed.

Vaccination Camps The reason for addressing the concern about vaccination upfront is obvious and needless to be explained. By the joint efforts of HR Department, Regional Offices and our members, vaccination camps could be conducted at different centers across the regions in a very planned and controlled manner. We had taken up the request with our HR Department for sanctioning a considerable amount for vaccinating the members and dependants. We place on record our sincere thanks to the department, and SGM for HR and Admin, Sri. Anto George, in particular for the timely intervention and favorable consideration. Having received clear instructions form the concerned departments, most of the Regional Offices took a proactive approach by arranging vaccination camps, but, the laxity shown by few Regional Offices on the same is lamentable. Even though there was scarcity of vaccines at certain centers, the undue delay in conducting the camps even

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SOUTH INDIAN BANK OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION (Affiliated to AIBOC) SIBOA Centre, Mission Quarters, Thrissur-1, Website: www.siboa.in, Mob: 9387100334 ======when the vaccines were available have caused serious ill effects on the health of the staff members owing to some regions found wanting in following HO directives. We inform the membership that the laxity shown by few Regional Offices in the issues of utmost importance will be taken up for due correction at appropriate forum.

Transfers and Replacements As the transfer season is about to finally settle, there are few members yet to be given appropriate placement on promotion. With the implementation of verticals in progress, apart from the single list of orders issued through the general transfers, an ongoing process of transfers is happening whereby transfer orders are issued in random as and when demand arise. We have sorted out requests for spouse joining which were pending for more than 3 years and also helped most of the members who have reached out to us for getting favourable transfers and also transfer modifications on genuine grounds. We thank HR department for the favorable approach in all the genuine cases represented. Members may please note that there are still cases pending under promotions, spouse joining and other genuine issues which we have already taken up and the same will be redressed in a phased manner. In fact, in a fair assessment, the conversion rate of our intervention in transfers this year is almost 95%.

With the implementation of the verticals based approach, the number of officers in a branch is likely to be equal or more than that in the clerical cadre. While the promotions to officer cadre and related transfers are on the higher side, branches are facing severe staff shortage in clerical cadre. We understand that the recruitment in clerical cadre is in progress and a permanent solution for the same will be possible only after the postings of newly recruited staff. Hence we have informed the management our strong discontent on the delay in the process leaving the branches and departments exposed to high risk and chances of possible business loss. We have also placed on record our objection to the haste shown in placing so many officers in different verticals without properly assessing actual requirements thereby exposing branches to serious staff shortage. Even the staff placed in the vertical are mostly kept idle and lot of confusion exists over the roles and responsibilities, though a rosy picture is always projected by the respective vertical teams in their presentations. Basic requirements like proper SOP for verticals and related

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SOUTH INDIAN BANK OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION (Affiliated to AIBOC) SIBOA Centre, Mission Quarters, Thrissur-1, Website: www.siboa.in, Mob: 9387100334 ======offices, along with systemic process revamping and appropriate remuneration for the officers posted to verticals are yet to be resolved.

Staff Shortage at Branches Continuing from previous para, the branches are left with the bare minimum of staff, just enough to run the show. Tremendous pressure due to severe shortage of staff, frequent customer contacting exercises and implementation of new marketing strategies, roles assigned to verticals being pushed to the branches by certain verticals are further stretching the working hours of branches. It was surprisingly interesting to note that the major concern received from branches was more related to loss of business due to staff shortage related customer ire than other issues. We see it as an expression of commitment by our members that the primary concern is how unsettled working conditions can harm our beloved institution. At the same time, we wish to reiterate that no member shall bye pass the prevailing guidelines in the pursuit of business, with constraints of staff/infrastructure. We have appraised the management about the gravity of the issues at branches which may not be reflected in the statistics and reports asked for but creates irreparable loss to the business base and goodwill of the institution. To make it simple and straight- It is easier to canvass fresh business than regaining lost ones, but the market for fresh business is a tougher nut to crack in these pandemic times.

Branch heads may get to know with the staffing of your branch which was recently fixed by the Bank through Regional Offices/ Cluster heads and should take up the staff shortage issues with respective regional heads by letter or e-mail. Members may please intimate us on acute shortage cases if the desired results are not received on your representation. We believe that acute shortage of staff can be sorted out to some extent at regional levels if powers to Regional Offices can be restored for Intra Regional Transfers. We have taken up the issue with HR Department and a positive decision on the same is expected soon.

Work Place Ambience With the implementation of verticals and cluster based approach, many officers are posted without proper supporting infrastructure in most of the offices. Some of the newly joined staff are using customer lounge to sit in the absence of other facilities . Despite these limitations, the

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SOUTH INDIAN BANK OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION (Affiliated to AIBOC) SIBOA Centre, Mission Quarters, Thrissur-1, Website: www.siboa.in, Mob: 9387100334 ======posted officers are made to continue their normal activities which is creating undue pressure and demotivation of the staff concerned, the reason being lack of planning and lapses in implementation level.

With shortage of staff in the branches, it has come to our concern that the intra staff relations are gradually worsening. We request our members to safeguard the interest of our members and interests of our beloved institution while desisting from harassing our fellow workers by conducting reviews/meetings after office hours for statistical purpose and reporting which is happening quite frequently. Let us be clear and be reminded that no implemented strategies or marketing techniques will be as good as a branch with good staff relations. Let us hold strong to our time tested core value of camaraderie while newer ones get instilled. Comrades, after all, no one cares as much as we do for each other. Let us not become poster boys of statistical business models without human values.

Reporting, Review Meetings and Video Conferences Serious concerns is raised by our members about more time being spent on reviews/meetings / Video Conferences called by various entities from HO departments to clusters and repeated reporting, as these activities are eating into time needed for business augmentation apart from facing back lash from customers at branches who feel the staff is no more responsive as they are busy with other matters. We have appraised the concerns about the same and there has been an evident reduction in the reporting and reviews ever since. We thank the authorities for their right understanding on the concerns addressed. We have taken a lighter approach on trainings or reviews conducted in intermittent holidays in the state of brought in as a restriction due to pandemic effects. Many members were of the opinion that such meetings were more convenient compared to those during working hours which left them in trouble with a customer waiting for them to end the meeting and get attended. There have been instances of review meetings extended to late evenings or nights at times even though in very few regions. We would like to make clear our stand on it that any such intrusion affecting the work life balance of employees will be looked into and protested in the days ahead. We have acted timely to cancel the training sessions which were planned on public holidays and beyond working hours

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SOUTH INDIAN BANK OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION (Affiliated to AIBOC) SIBOA Centre, Mission Quarters, Thrissur-1, Website: www.siboa.in, Mob: 9387100334 ======wherever reported other than those in the timings brought in as restrictions due to lock downs for pandemic. We urge members to bring to our notice any such attempts and such approaches, against our beloved institution’s concern for a work-life balance of its employees, will not be tolerated at any cost.

Constraints faced by Vertical staff Many of our members posted to verticals have raised various concerns. Roles played by various branches have been shifted to the verticals as per circulars. Unfortunately, it is seen that in video conferences and meetings instructions contrary to the circulars are being issued orally by certain vertical heads which is contrary to the letter and spirt of what is conveyed by our MD in his interactions with us and in his town hall meetings. From the feedback we received from various staff it is clear that the work load assigned to most are more than double the industry average without sufficient support mechanism. We feel this is the result of conceptualization failure by verticals teams while projecting business plans and to justify their claims unachievable targets are being assigned.

Meeting with EVP and SGM The undersigned, along with our President and Treasurer had met the EVP and SGM at Head Office on 26.06.2021 to discuss the pressing matters as enumerated above. The points discussed in brief are reproduced for information of members:  Status of implementation of verticals and time expected for finalization  Interim measures to support Branches pending full-fledged verticalization  Use of outsourcing agencies and consultancies  Extremely excessive reporting  The role of cluster heads  Passing the buck at several levels and not owning responsibility  Commitment sought on daily basis without any application of mind  Branch Banking vertical failing to assess the actual situation in branches  Not utilizing partners’ services properly for third party products  Streamlining or replacement of BPM solution  Delay experienced in documentation hubs  CMOGs-lack of proper guidance and control including infrastructure  Laid down policies and procedures being overlooked by CPCs by some lateral entrants  Attending branch calls in departments/offices  Excessive number of VCs, no meaningful follow up  No improvement in delay experienced by customers in various delivery channels

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SOUTH INDIAN BANK OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION (Affiliated to AIBOC) SIBOA Centre, Mission Quarters, Thrissur-1, Website: www.siboa.in, Mob: 9387100334 ====== Officers posted to some verticals still following up with branches, not contributing to business  Too many people to supervise, too less numbers to garner business  Excessive calling to customers backfiring  Identification of job roles for staff members to be decided at branch level  Providing necessary infrastructure to new verticals and roles  Shortage of staff  Formation of recovery verticals and mindless reviews  Immediate resolution for Internal settlement

The response by EVP and SGM was very positive and starting the same day evening, we got calls from some of the concerned officers/executives requesting to know our views on the issue for sake of clarity. From previous experience also, we have full confidence in resolution of the issues raised. While some of the interim issues basically relate to the delay being experienced in full implementation of the new structure, which could still take some time, there was immediate resolution in many issues including excessive VCs/reviews which are being controlled, reports sought are being scrutinized to verify genuineness of the need and its impact and utilization, centralized departments being sensitized for attending branch calls timely etc. We shall be following up for resolution of all possible issues. Meanwhile, the delay in finalizing the internal settlement is causing distress to the officer community who are over burdened with duties far exceeding their capacity and it is felt that top management has to give due credit for the fact that we have patiently waited during the lockdowns on account of covid pandemic, related stress in the industry which even resulted in declaring loss during previous quarter etc. However, it is high time that the allowances and other benefits governed by the internal settlement are brought at par with industry standards so as to cover genuine requirements without wasting more time. We have expressed our serious concern in the issue and are assured that immediate steps will be taken to redress the grievance.

Operational Convenience With the implementation of verticals and CMOGs, work flows regarding processing, pre sanctioning and post sanctioning procedures for loans were appraised by the members to be impractical and without any value addition to the process in many cases. All the concerns taken up were brought to the notice of respective departments and solutions were implemented. Hiccups regarding renewal of staff gold loans in Finacle and intervention of CMOG in PRS loans

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SOUTH INDIAN BANK OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION (Affiliated to AIBOC) SIBOA Centre, Mission Quarters, Thrissur-1, Website: www.siboa.in, Mob: 9387100334 ======in Kerala regions are a few to mention. Members may respond and bring to our notice such pressing issues and bring in suggestions to implement the newly introduced systems flawlessly. Let us make sure that the changing systems are only there to make things simpler, faster and safer for staff and our constituents.

Covid Casualities We place on record our deepest sorrow and condolences to the family of bereaved comrades as they couldn’t make it on their brave struggle against the rampaging pandemic.

Mr. Thirumavalagan, Clerk, Branch Silaiman Mr. Raghavendra, Clerk, Branch Mohalla Comrade Subalakshmi D, Asst Manager, Branch Pasumathur Comrade Amrutha Anto, Asst. Manager, Branch Kunnamkulam

A criticism about sharing too many obituary messages related to demise of our staff relatives has come to us. We are following the time old practice of sharing the messages related to demise of close relatives of our members only which is of prime importance to show our concern to the affected members and for sharing the information with other staff members like in any close knit family. Such approach of criticism, towards an act of consoling our own SIBOA family member in pain, is highly unacceptable We will continue to share such messages and we hope the members take the same in its true spirit as any of us can be victims in times like this.

SIBOA App and Revamped Website It has been a dream and demand of our membership to get the services provided by our association in the tip of their fingers 24*7. On 21st of June, we successfully made the historic transformation to digital mode possible as our SGM HR and Admin, Sri. Anto George T unveiled the SIBOA app and revamped website in an online live function which was aired in our youtube page which was viewed by our members across the country. The response received from the members is heartwarming and we take this opportunity to congratulate the Executive Committee and other members who have voluntarily worked on the making of this app. The contributions made by Comrade Akhil Raj, Manager- Mumbai Vasai Branch is worth mentioning as he stood as the single pillar supporting the team towards this remarkable achievement. While 99% of

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SOUTH INDIAN BANK OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION (Affiliated to AIBOC) SIBOA Centre, Mission Quarters, Thrissur-1, Website: www.siboa.in, Mob: 9387100334 ======services are digitalized some features like new membership enrolment requires amendments in our bye law for implementation, and until then we need signed application forms. We request the members to make best use of the app and explore the avenues for betterment of the same through your valuable suggestions.

Comrades, SIBOA is a time tested association with a heritage of more than five decades. We, like our ancestors, have stood up and against all possible intrusions towards our rights and privileges which we have won over these years through our unity. In these testing times, while we take a responsible approach towards the changes and transformation happening in our beloved institution which is our bread and butter, the same shall not be viewed as dilution of our commitment to our members. Let’s be reminded about the role of our association as an able watch dog and the legacy of our struggle to uphold our institution and the membership against all odds, new or old over the years.

Long Live Unity!!!

Long Live SIBOA!!!

Yours comradely,

(Praveen.R) General Secretary

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