COVID-19: SBI warns employees of action over social media posts against bank

Kolkata, Apr 3 () The State Bank of India haswarned its employees against posting content on social mediathat is critical of the country's largest lender over itsfunctioning in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

In a recent letter to chief general managers of allcircles, SBI also said action will be taken against employeeswho take to social media platforms to write messagesdisparaging the bank, its management and policies, sourcessaid on Friday.

"We have seen a spurt in social media posts pertainingto functioning of the bank's branches and offices... Therehave been many such posts critical of the bank not closingdown operations in context of the COVID-19 outbreak, littleappreciating the role of the bank at such a critical time,"the sources said, quoting a circular.

The lender has already initiated action against two ofits employees based in West Bengal for "offensive" postsagainst the bank and a senior management official, they said.

The move has met with criticism by a large section ofSBI employees, who called it an attempt to muzzle free speechand expression.

"Being a citizen of a democratic country, we have abroader right to express our views on social media about thesituations that affect our day lives, without divulgingdetails of our organisation or using derogatory language...this circular is an attempt to curb our rights enshrined inArticle 19 of the Constitution," said an SBI employee, whopreferred not to be named.

A senior United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) officialtold that SBI is the only bank to have come out with sucha circular amid the coronavirus crisis.

An official of the All India Bank OfficersConfederation (AIBOC) said the state-run lender's circular onsocial media posts of its employees is "definitely" a breachof their democratic rights.

"Indecent language in social media against banks isnot encouraged, but employees are well within rights to flagconcerns through their posts," he said.

When contacted, SBI Chief General Manager, KolkataCircle, Ranjan Kumar Mishra, said the bank has a social mediapolicy in place which every employee is expected to adhere to,failing which action could be initiated.

"Everybody is free to express themselves on socialmedia regarding COVID-19 or any other subject, but if suchposts tarnish the image of the bank and is violative of theset code of conduct, then disciplinary action might be takenafter investigation," Mishra told .

On reports that some of its employees are placed undersuspension over recent social media posts, he said such stepsare "regular internal matters of the bank".

Mishra also said SBI has been largely successful inmanaging customer flow at its branches across the country amidthe ongoing lockdown, and help of local authorities is beingsought wherever required. RBTSK SK