Extended duty hours amid lockdown irk DBBL Fast Track officers

Dissatisfaction brews among officials of Fast Track units of Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited as the bank has extended the duty hours for officials of Fast Track units instead of limited duty hours amid the ongoing strict lockdown.

The bank’s Alternative Delivery Channel division on June 17 instructed the officials for Fast Track units under all branches to carry out duty from 9:00am to 7:00pm from June 17 to July 15.

The instruction also said that all officers for Fast Track units would have to receive cash deposit and perform all other operational activities as usual and none would be allowed to leave station without prior permission. The officers would discharge duty on roster, as per the instruction letter.

Fast Track is a service of the bank away from its branches equipped with multiple automated teller machines and deposit machines.

Some Fast Track officials complained that the bank increased the duty hours for them violating the central bank’s instruction. The central bank instructed all commercial banks to carry out banking operation from 10:00am to 3:30pm amid the strict lockdown.

“Before the lockdown, my office hour was from 8:00am to 10:00pm in two shifts. As a result, one officer had to remain on duty for seven hours,” said a Fast Track official seeking anonymity.
But amid the strict lockdown, the duty hours have been increased to ten hours from seven hours when office hours of all offices were reduced to prevent the spread of Covid-19, he added.

This is a very unfair and inhumane decision us, said some other FT officials.

The Bangladesh Bank circular on June 30 said that banks will carry out transactions from 10:00am to 1:30pm during the seven-day strict lockdown till July 7.

Banks can operate until 3:30pm for conducting their other necessary activities during the period, added the circular.

Mosiur Rahman, Head of ADC Division of the bank, told The Business Post that those Fast Track officials were carrying out duty on a roster amid the strict lockdown. He declined to say anything about the increased office hours.

There are 1,400 Fast Track units of the bank employing about 3,100 officials, he said.