SRINAGAR/July, 3: Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) leader and former legislator Rafi Ahmad Mir on Friday urged the J&K Bank authorities not to traumatize its already depressed employees and release their salaries which have been withheld for no justifiable reasons.
In a statement issued here, Mir remarked that around 2800 employees who are working with utmost dedication in various business units of the bank have been unnecessarily deprived of their remunerations which is a gross injustice with their families.“These employees have been working in the JK Bank for the last many years and most of them have been promoted to higher positions. Now stopping their salaries is not only injustice but a violation of their fundamental rights,” Mir remarked. He said that the employees whose salary has been withheld have been giving best of their capabilities to increase the clientele of the bank and there are no complaints with regard to their professional aptitude or any sort of dereliction of duties.
“JKAP has time and again reiterated its opinion that the unwanted interference of the government agencies in the functioning of JK Bank is not only disadvantageous to the economic interests of people but also detrimental to the credibility of this iconic financial institution of J&K,” Mir stressed. He said that the 2800 employees whose salary has been stopped by the Bank are supposed to shoulder responsibility for their families. “These employees along with their families have been subjected to social stigma and are undergoing a mental trauma. Any further delay in release of their salaries can have dangerous ramifications on their mental health,” he added. Mir urged the J&K government to avoid its interference in the functioning of the Bank and by restricting the ACB’s unwanted presence in the Bank headquarters which has caused a huge dent in the credibility of this financial institution. He said that the employees’ welfare from the first line of service provided at counters to the highest hierarchy of management especially in banking sectors is the first and foremost requirement to impart strength to its foundations.“JK Bank is not confined to a few places in Jammu and Kashmir but has extended to almost all states and cities of the country and it is otherwise imperative to get the functioning of the Bank back on the rails. This target can be achieved only if the Bank is allowed autonomous functioning without any bureaucratic interference from the government,” the JKAP leader remarked.
