Owners of the banks have sought more time to implement the directive of Bangladesh Bank about salary structures of the employees.
Leaders of Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB) also requested a review of the guideline as they attended a meeting with Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir on Wednesday.
“We asked the bankers to implement this in March, but they sought more time to comply with the directive,” he said. He also mentioned that the central bank would review the demand of the bankers to extend timeline for implementation of the guidelines about salaries.
Earlier on 20 January, the central bank fixed a minimum salary of Tk 39,000 for private bank officials subject to the completion of their probation period. The central bank issued a notice in this regard which will come into effect from March, 2022.
According to the notification, the minimum monthly salary for trainee assistant officers (general and cash) will be Tk 28, 000 during their probation period.
Office assistants, including security guards, cleaners, and messengers will get Tk24,000 as minimum wage.
The banks’ owners said the guideline is “hard to implement within the timeline.”
He said the guidelines regarding the minimum salaries and allowances for private bank officials would be difficult to implement within the time mentioned.
"We have requested the governor to defer the time and also to reconsider the whole matter. It is difficult for us to comply with the guidelines on salaries and allowances for entry-level bank employees by this March,” he said.
“We have been assured that the central bank will further look into the matter," BAB chairman said.
The central bank on Tuesday clarified a point of January 20 directive that it didn’t ask banks to not take actions against employees due to inefficiency.
According to the directive, the banks cannot sack officials, stop promotion or force to resign for failure to reach targets in the name of inefficiency, it clarified.
Bangladesh Bank said it issued clarifications following misinterpretations of the directive by some.
It said the partial presentation of the directive would make the banks face difficulty in implementing the guidelines.