HC orders regularization process for 456 employees at Telangana Grameena Bank

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has issued significant orders to Telangana Grameena Bank, directing it to review and initiate the regularisation process for 456 sweepers, messengers, and other staff who have been working on daily wages for the past 20 years.

This directive comes after a petition was filed by the Telangana Grameena Bank Temporary Employees Association, along with the affected workers, challenging the bank’s earlier rejection of their request for regularization.

No formal recruitment over last 2 decades: Petitioners

According to the petitioners, the bank has not conducted any formal recruitment over the last two decades and has continued to employ these workers on a daily wage basis.

They argued that the bank has been avoiding its responsibility by not paying them as per the regular pay scale and by denying them the benefits and job security that come with regular employment.

Justice Pulla Karthik, after reviewing the case, ordered the bank to disregard its previous rejection of the regularisation request and to consider the process afresh, following specific guidelines.

The court instructed the bank to assess the performance of the employees and develop a scheme for regularization based on their service.

The court also clarified that the petitioners should be allowed to participate in the selection process for office attendant posts without the need for Employment Exchange recommendations.

Additionally, the High Court directed the bank to take into account the long years of service rendered by the petitioners and to provide certain relaxations in the recruitment process.

The court emphasised that age and educational qualifications should be considered in line with the High Court’s 2017 orders. Importantly, the regularisation process is to apply only to those workers who are currently in service, not to those who have already left.

The High Court has set a six-month deadline for the completion of this process, offering hope for job security and fair compensation to the long-serving daily wage workers of Telangana Grameena Bank.