“So you will be working on Sunday, right?”
Though she had been working without a break for the last 10 days, D. Latha could face that question from a customer at the bank with a smile. And no, she will not be working on Sunday; and she is mighty relieved that she is finally getting a day off.
Her sense of relief is shared by hundreds of thousands bank employees across the country who have been working hard and quite often late into the night ever since November 9. On the previous night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that existing currency notes of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 were being withdrawn.
Not that employees like Ms. Latha, who works at the main branch of State Bank Travancore, Kozhikode, have complaints. “We saw it as a challenge and it was even thrilling for the first few days,” said Ms. Latha, who has been a bank employee for the last 36 years. “But we badly needed a break.”
Shejil Mondody, who works at the Canara Bank branch at Thalakulathur, nodded in agreement. “Lots of things have to be done at home,” he said. “For the last 10 days, my work began at 8 a.m. and finished only late in the night. On a single day, I have counted currency notes worth more than Rs.1 crore, so you can imagine the kind of work we have had to do.”
Because of their hard work, the public’s perception of employees of nationalised banks has changed. “Most people were not aware that bank staffers were capable of such hard work,” said K.J. Thomas, president, Bankmen’s Club. “The heavy workload because of the demonetisation has also inculcated a new team spirit among the bank employees; the clerical staff and the officers have all helped each other, like they never did before.”
Meena N. Nair, who works at the Kallayi branch of Gramin Bank, said she enjoyed serving the public, though the strenuous work has affected her health. “Women, of course, find it tougher, as we have more health issues,” she said. “And many of us would also have to do a lot of work at home. So we really needed this holiday, but we know a lot more hard work awaits us on Monday.”
