Banks workers go on strike against mergers; services hit
16 Dec 2009
Nearly 600,000 bank employees across the country went on strike today to protest against the merger and consolidation of public sector banks. Workers in private sector banks also joined the strike.
"We are striking keeping the merger of the State Bank of Indore with the State Bank of India in the forefront. But in general, it is our policy to oppose merger and consolidation of public sector banks," Rajen Nagar, national president of the All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA), one of the unions spearheading the strike, said.
After reconciliation talks between the government and the union leaders made no progress on Tuesday, the unions decided to go ahead with their strike. AIBEA and the All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA) said that their members were on strike against the mergers and consolidations.
The meeting on Tuesday was held by the chief labour commissioner in New Delhi with union leaders. The convenor of United Forum of Bank Unions, C H Venkatachalam also attended the meeting, which failed to make any progress.
Twenty seven state-run banks and around a similar number of private sector banks are keeping their shutters down, Nagar said. A protest rally is also planned in Mumbai.
Nagar added, "These mergers are not in the national interest. They not only result in job losses, but also hamper banking services for small customers like agri-business and SMEs (small and medium enterprises)."
"We want extension of public sector banks, not merger," he added.
Apart from opposing consolidation in the sector, some of the other demands of the unions are that a proposed World Bank loan of $2 billion for the sector should be rejected; and the banking sector should not be exempted from the Companies Act, 2002.
