November 8: Bankers have said they are willing to get enlisted in the Social Security Fund of the government if it removes practical hurdles.  

CEOs of various banks informed the government that their staffers are unwilling to get listed in the government scheme because of some ambiguous provisions.

Speaking at an interaction with Labour Minister Gokarna Bista in the capital on Thursday, they also urged the government to amend the laws in the scheme to make it more practical.

The bankers told Minister Bista that their long-time employees are reluctant to join the scheme fearing that the move would jeopardize all their hard-earned facilities they are entitled to enjoy.

Chairman of Nepal Bankers Assiociation Gyanendra Dhungana said that the staffers want facilities like pension, insurance and loan facilities just like that the ones provided by the Employee Provident Fund and Citizens Investment Trust .

Dhungana further said that although new employees are excited to join the scheme, long-serving staffers are not willing to do so.

“The old staff members are ready to quit their jobs but are not willing to give up the facilities which they have been enjoying so far,” said Dhungana.

“This is a practical problem which the government needs to understand and act accordingly,” he added.

The Social Security Fund has provision of providing pension after the staffers reach 60 years. But currently, the bank staffers have been enjoying that facility at the age of 58. They are not interested to wait for two more years, the CEOs argued.

They also complained that the same insurance facility for all the staffers was not acceptable. They argued that if the scheme was based on contribution, the insurance amount must also vary in accordance to the contribution.

Only seven out of the total 28 commercial banks have been enlisted in the Social Security Fund of the government so far.