Staff Correspondent:

A group of Janata Bank officials has expressed strong dissatisfaction with a newly drafted promotion policy, alleging that it favours a particular group and undermines merit and fairness.

According to the draft policy, a scoring system has been introduced that awards up to seven marks based on the total length of service, counted from the date of joining the bank, regardless of grade.

In a recent letter to the bank’s chairman and managing director, officials who joined as senior officers in 2019 and later wrote that the new policy would hurt their morale.

The officials said that under this formula, officers who joined earlier in lower positions (10th grade) could end up scoring higher than those directly recruited as senior officers (9th grade), creating a biased system.

For instance, an officer promoted to senior officer through the bank’s supernumerary scheme on December 31, 2019, would get 3.64 marks for total service.

In contrast, a directly recruited senior officer who joined in mid-2019 would receive only 1.40 marks, despite having more experience at the senior level.

This gap, the officials say, could allow junior-grade officers to leapfrog over more than 3,000 colleagues in the race for promotion.

They warned that such a policy could damage morale and lead to long-term instability within the institution.

Some officials also alleged that the proposed policy reflects political influence and risks reversing recent efforts to ensure transparency in the bank’s operations.

However, several employees who stand to benefit from the new policy have welcomed it, according to Janata Bank officials.

When contacted, Janata Bank Managing Director Md Mojibur Rahman told journalist that the policy is still in draft form and under review.

“This is not final, we are still in discussions,” he said. “If anyone has any arguments or concerns regarding the policy, they will be heard.”