(Lanka-e-News -28.Oct.2015, 10.00PM) The Hatton National bank (HNB) which prohibited its employees under its ‘social media policy of HNB,’to access the social media chain thereby transgressing the fundamental laws of the country was issued an enjoining order by the Colombo district court judge T.D. Gunasekera. This verdict must be an eye opener to other maniacal chiefs of Institutions too who are suffering from social media phobia.
The grounds supporting this enjoining order are as follows :
Sections 9 and 10 of the HNB social media policy code stipulates that all HNB bank employees should abide by the code , and that access to social media is only a privilege accorded by the bank to its employees , and not a right the employees are entitled to. This privilege can be withdrawn by the bank any time , it adds .
What is most obnoxious about these provisions is , the Bank’s social media policy code goes on to further state that the employees should access the social media least not only during office working hours , but even in their private time.
Another provision that is equally or more abominable is : exchange of political and religious views shall be avoided , and if those with whom such exchanges made are HNB customers or rivals , prior permission shall be obtained from the HNB authority in that regard.
Truly speaking , this policy code is an index that despite the Bank ‘s glamor and glitter to attract customers , the bank is still in the stone age and in the litter bin owing to its social media policy code restricting the fundamental rights of its employees .
Under these circumstances , any employee can be found liable by the bank at any time , and recently four employees of the bank were taken to task for making comments in the face book by the HNB administrative authority , and disciplinary action was taken against them.
However the Bank union which took action against this by seeking court redress was successful , with the district court delivering an enjoining order on the bank to refrain from implementing the HNB social media policy, until the case is tried.
Harsha Soysa P.C. appearing on behalf of the HNB bank union observed that by this so called Social media policy code of HNB , the rights to free thinking , freedom of conscience, religious freedom , freedom of expression , freedom of language ,social freedom and so forth which are conferred on the people by the supreme constitution are being violated, and therefore he prayed for a declaration from the court that this social media policy code is illegal and invalid in law.
The district court judge T.D. Gunasekera accepting the submissions made by Harsha Soysa P.C. prohibited the bank from imposing the ban on the access to social media by its employees for 14 days , while fixing the date of trial for the 6 th of November .
This decision of the district court should serve as a warning red light to the chiefs of Government and private Institutions who are suffering from social media phobia . This court verdict once again underlines that Institutions should introduce their rules and regulations in conformity with the country’s fundamental laws and legal framework, and not in violation of them.
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by (2015-10-28 16:47:07)
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