Public sector bank employees go on strike; services affected

BL : PTI : 22 Aug 2021

 

Banking services across the financial capital of India were hit as employees from all public sector banks stayed away from work on Day 1 of the nation-wide strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU).

All public sector banks downing shutters in Mumbai was a common sight.

Cheque clearing transactions will be delayed by at least two days. This is suppose to delay the cheque transactions worth at least Rs 14,000 crore till tomorrow.

Small businesses holding only one account with a public sector bank are likely to face the brunt of the strike as current account transactions will be delayed.

However, individuals with sufficient funds and ATM cards will be spared the trouble as even public sector banks have ensured that all its ATMs are sufficiently loaded.

“Out ATMs are fully loaded to cover withdrawals till Saturday,” Vilas Palav, Branch Manager, SBI, Fort Branch, said.

Private sector banks like ICICI Bank are hoping to make merry of the bandh called by employee unions. It is hoping to see more transactions through its branches for account holders who hold accounts in ICICI Bank as well as a striking public sector bank.

Among private banks, only old private banks are participating in the strike.

The strike has been called primarily to oppose the Government’s proposal to increase the shareholders' voting rights from 1 per cent to 10 per cent in public sector banks and to 26 per cent (10 per cent) in private banks. This, according to UFBU, would lead to privatisation of banks.

UFBU, an umbrella organisation of nine trade unions in the banking sector, also wants the Khandelwal Committee’s recommendations scrapped as it bypasses the employee unions in respect of HR matters.

PTI reports:

Employees of public sector banks have gone on a two-day nationwide strike today opposing the banking sector reforms and outsourcing of non-core activities.

The strike has hit the banking operations. Several private sector banks, foreign banks and ATMs, however, continued to operate normally.

The strike call was given by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella organisation of nine unions of employees and officers of PSU banks.

They are protesting against the banking sector reforms and unilateral implementation of the Khandelwal committee report on human resources management in PSU banks.

“The strike is on since this morning. Nearly 10 lakh employees are participating in it. This includes 24 public sector banks, 12 private banks and six foreign banks,” All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C.H. Venkatachalam told PTI.

He also said that ATM machines will work until they have the cash and thereafter those services will also be impacted.

The strike has been called against government’s policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. Bank unions are demanding stringent and effective measures to recover bad loans.

“Strike is going on normally, demonstration will start by 10-10.30 am. All the nine unions are participating in the strike,” said Rakesh Agarwal, General Secretary, SBI Officers Association.

Bank unions have been demanding for pension revision, housing loan revision, five-day working week and human resource related issues, Agarwal said.

There are about 87,000 branches of public sector banks, employing over 10 lakh people. PSU banks, which operate 63,000 ATMs, control about 75 per cent banking business in the country.

Operations hit

According to reports, operations like deposit, withdrawal as well as clearing are affected in public sector banks, including the largest lender State Bank of India, due to the strike.

However, in the private sector, operations were normal in ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank and foreign banks.

Among other things, the trade unions are protesting against the Banking Laws Amendment Bill which is pending in Parliament and implementation of the Khandelwal committee report.

The Amendment Bill, 2011 contains provisions such as raising of shareholders’ voting rights from 10 per cent to 26 per cent in private banks and supersession of bank boards.

Khandelwal panel

The Centre-appointed Khandelwal panel had suggested a slew of measures, including more outsourcing of non-core activities in a time-bound manner.

Also, the standard of recruitment, including methodology and content for testing, has to be raised. Testing of computer skills will be mandatory for both officers and clerks, the panel had recommended.

The Khandelwal committee had also suggested that the minimum qualification for clerks and sub-staff should be graduation and class 10, respectively.

The unions, which had given the strike call, include the All India Bank Employees’ Association, All India Bank Officers’ Confederation, National Confederation of Bank Employees, All India Bank Officers’ Association, Bank Employees Federation of India, India National Bank Employees Federation, Indian National Bank Officers Congress, National Organisation of Bank Workers and National Organisation of Bank Officers.

Strike impact

In Mumbai, there was marginal impact of the strike.

SBI said it is too early to assess the impact on operations as the headquarters has not received any feedback from the branches.

An official of the Corporation Bank said employees belonging to the striking unions are absent from work, impacting the operations.

Union Bank, Central Bank and Bank of India said that their branches have recorded thin attendance so far.

Old private sector banks like Federal Bank and Dhanlaxmi Bank also said that their branches, being run by managers of Grade IV and below, are impacted due to the strike.

These banks typically have around half of their branches run by lower grade officers, who are part of the National Federation which is striking.

Transactions hit

Meanwhile, banking transactions came to a halt in public sector banks in Punjab and Haryana, although private banks like HDFC Bank and ICICI ICICI Bank continued to operate.

The impact of the strike was visible on the industrial sectors of both Punjab and Haryana as industry representatives fumed over hampering of their business activities due to the two-day long strike by bank employees.

Industry representatives, particularly of the MSME sector, said they could not arrange funds for working capital requirements.

“The slowdown in the economy coupled with sluggish demand has already hit the industrial sector. Now, the strike will add to our woes. It is unthinkable to carry out any financial transaction without banks,” a Ludhiana based industrialist N. Bhamra said.

Due to the strike, cheques worth several crores of rupees remained uncleared in the public sector banks. Several banks’ asset recovery branches have even postponed the auction of loan defaulters’ properties.