SEBI withdraws earlier press release; promises to address employee concerns

Sebi employees have strongly condemned the unauthorized release of internal communication, confirming that all concerns shall be addressed amicably, through internal channels.

Capital market regulator Sebi said on September 16 that all concerns of its employees that have been recently shared shall be addressed 'amicably through internal channels', and the statement issued earlier this month after employee complaints stands withdrawn.

"SEBI addresses employee-related matters through appropriate internal mechanisms. Following constructive discussions with representatives of all grades of officers, SEBI and its employees have reaffirmed that such issues are strictly internal and will be managed in accordance with the organization’s high standards of governance and within a time-bound framework," said the statement issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

The statement added that Sebi's employees strongly condemned the unauthorised release of internal communication and have confirmed that all concerns shall be addressed amicably through established internal channels.

The earlier statement, which now stands withdrawn, was issued on September 4.

On September 4, Sebi had released a press release following news reports on employee discontent with the work culture at the regulator's office. The press release had said that the employees were being instigated by external elements to "go to Media, go to the Ministry, go to Board (Sebi's Board) perhaps to serve their (the external elements') own purpose.

The September 4 release referenced a letter that "a group of (Sebi) employees" had sent to HRD on August 6, 2024, and a second letter they had sent seven days later. Sebi's press release said that these were part of a "strategy" to gain more bargaining power to seek more benefits including an increase in house rent allowance (HRA) and "automatic promotions at lower performance ratings without interviews has also been 'demanded'". It had said that Sebi had taken initiatives, such as quantified key resource areas (KRAs) and officer-level and team-level monthly targets, to be responsive to the market ecosystem and its participants.

The September 4 release said that the claims of unprofessional work culture in the letter dated August 6, 2024, were "misplaced" and stemmed from instances such as under-pitching of performance capability of officers, mis-reporting of status of achievement of KRAs and "adjusting" appraisal marks of poorly performing officers to make them eligible for promotion.

With the latest statement, this September 4 press release stands withdrawn.

News reports over the past two months have said that Sebi's employees have held silent protests at the Mumbai office against a "toxic" work environment. On September 5 too they held a protest against Sebi's September 4 press release.