SRINAGAR/JAMMU: J&K Bank ATM guards Monday staged protest both in Jammu as well as Srinagar, alleging that the new company that has overtaken the security of the Bank is firing most of them while at the same time they are made to face the salary cuts.
In Srinagar, scores of such guards appeared in the Press Enclave and raised slogans in favour of their demands while alleging that they are facing injustice at the hands of the new company. The protestors said that they are working as security guards for the last more than 10 years and all of a sudden, they are either being fired or are being told to face salary cuts. They said that they do not have a problem with the change in the company, rather stand against the salary cut and termination of the employees which should be rolled back without further delay.
As per the protestors, they used to get Rs 7500 in hand as monthly salary while Rs 1600 used to be deducted separately as CP fund, however, now they are getting just Rs 5500 in hand as monthly salary which they said is not sufficient to make their ends meet. The protestors appealed Chairman J&K Bank to look into the matter and take necessary measures so that they do not have to face the salary cut. In Jammu also, hundreds of security guards providing protection to Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs), cash vans and bank branches assembled outside the zonal office of J&K Bank at Bahu Plaza and staged a sit-in, seeking intervention of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and the bank management to ensure proper wages to them.
“We have assembled here to lodge our protest against the salary cut at a time when the prices of essential commodities, including kitchen goods, apart from petrol and diesel, have skyrocketed making the lives of the common man miserable,” ex-paramilitary serviceman Balbir Singh, who was leading the protest, said. Later, a delegation of the protesters met the bank officials and the protest was ended on their assurance that they will take up the issue with the company concerned. Meanwhile, BD Security Private Limited, which has secured the contract to provide security services top J&K Bank, while issuing a statement said that as per the Letter of Intent received from the Bank, they had to give the deployment of security guards starting from today November 1) and as such they sent its guards at various locations including that of the zonal office where already a group of at least 100 security guards not on the rolls of the Company started creating ruckus on seeing the new deployment and restrained the Company to discharge their duties as per the contract “To ensure that banking services are not disbursed and go smooth especially in the days of festivities and keeping in mind the sentiments of these people, we even took a call to pay these security guards the wages which they were being paid by the previous agency just a month ago and MD & CEO
Tejinder Singh came forward and announced the rate of wages even in writing as per the demand of erring security guards but they refused to accept the same and put forth the demand of more enhanced wage which could not be accepted by it as it had already crossed his limits only to provide smooth services to the J&K Bank,” the company said..
