Besides, the bank has also charted out a "career path" for its clerical and subordinate staff who will be promoted as junior officers and award staff, respectively, through internal examinations.

The five-year agreement with trade unions, which will be in force up to March 2004, was necessitated by the bank's need to diversify its activities "to maximise profits, particularly in the context of stiff competition from foreign and new private banks," an internal SBI document said.

The move is aimed at elevating the SBI to an organisation of global repute in the new millennium and ushering in a new work culture, an SBI source said. The agreement also effectively breaks the backbone of tradeunionism in the country's largest commercial bank, coming on the heels of the management's success in shifting the foreign exchange division to Mumbai from Calcutta in the face of stiff opposition put by the unions.

The agreement reached between the banks and its employees says that the bank at its discretion can extend business hours at all the fully computerised branches up to two hours on full working days and one hour on half working days.

In another significant feature which is expected to have an effect on the bank's profitability, the agreement says that at fully computerised branches, the banks may introduce seven-day banking, shift system and round-the-clock banking. The bank may also stagger working hours at fully computerised branches.

Apart from these measures, the bank, at its discretion, intends to install automated teller machines (ATM) at any branches of its choice and interlink them, install note counting machines at all fully computerised branches and interlink the operations andtransactions among computerised branches.

The employees' federation has also agreed in principle to the proposal for introducing single window system and computerising the cash department operations in the bank with a view to further improve customer service. "The federation will extend full cooperation with the single window system and computerisation of cash department," the agreement said.

The agreement also says that the bank will continue outsourcing, including hiring time from outside computer agencies in essential areas to meet its requirements.

Under the relocation scheme, the bank will redesignate its employees. It will utilise the service of employees who are redesignated to perform multiple jobs on the same day.

Flexibility in the deployment of workmen in the bank at the branches has been accepted by the unions to "ensure optimum utilisation of available human resources by providing for interchangeablity between clerical and cash department for performance of multiple task".

The bank hasalso said that it can send employees to proceed on deputation to other branches at short notice to meet the needs of administration. Mobility of personnel from one branch to the other has been accepted by the unions "so that proper and equitable deployment of manpower could be made to meet the requirements of all branches, particularly those located in rural and semi-urban centres".

INSIGHT
Path-breaking pact

The agreement reached by SBI with its union is path-breaking, for several reasons. First, it arms management with flexibility, allowing redeployment of staff, unfettered installation of ATMs et al. This will enhance the management's ability to cope with change. Second, and perhaps more importantly, it means that the union has seen the writing on the wall, and is as concerned as management to get rid of the legacy of past restrictive practices. The agreement augurs well not only for industrial relations at the bank, but also for the management in increasing employeeproductivity.

Manas Chakravarty