Covid-19 deaths: Bank unions seek compensation for contractual staff

Those on contract are not being covered either by any medical insurance or reimbursement scheme for their treatment when they get infected nor by any financial compensation

Banks unions have sought financial compensation for the family of contractual employees who lose their lives due to coronavirus (Covid19) while on duty.
 

Banks have announced the compensation of Rs 0.20 crore as compensation to the family of regular employees who succumb to the coronavirus infection while on duty.
 

All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) in a communication to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that in addition to regular bank employees, contact and causal employee are also working in the banks during the pandemic. They have also been playing a crucial role in maintaining the essential banking services in the banks, AIBEA said.
 

Those on contract are not covered either by any medical insurance or reimbursement scheme for their treatment when they get infected, nor arethey entitled to any financial compensation. Some of them, unfortunately, have lost their lives due to coronavirus infection.
 

The union drew attention to Union Ministry of Shipping’s advisory (April 2020) to port trusts saying that dependents/legal heirs of contractual employees are eligible for ex gratia / compensation upon the death of such employees due to Covid-19.
 

The union said that contractual employees like jewellery appraisers, deposit collectors, business correspondents/bank mitras, temporary and casual workers employed by the banks are working during the pandemic deserve to be treated at par with regular employees.
 

In the interest of fairplay, the government should issue an advisory to banks to extend the compensation scheme to the above mentioned category of employees, AIBEA general secretary C H Venkatachalam said.