New Delhi: Following assurances from Finance Secretary Rajeev Kumar, officers’ the unions of public sector banks have deferred their 48-hour strike which was scheduled from the midnight of September 25 to 27.
A “positive and workable solution” suggested by Kumar has apparently halted the bank strike which could have severely impacted services across the country.
The officers’ unions served a strike notice to the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) on September 12. In it, various issues, including the proposed merger of banks, were discussed in detail.
The immediate triggers for the strike were indeed the proposed merger of public sector banks announced by the government on August 30 and demands regarding revision in wages and improvement in other service conditions.
Also read: With New Round of Bank Mergers, Is the Govt Ignoring Lessons From the Past?
The government had, on August 30, announced its ambitious plan to consolidate 10 state-owned banks into four “next generation” banks of global scale to clean up a sector struggling with bad-loans and create bigger lenders capable of supporting a $5 trillion economy.
This move was met with bitter criticism from bank officers’ unions who flagged various issues, arguing in favour of preserving the identity of all banks.
“When the basic flaws in the financial sector remain unaddressed, the new mega banks to pump prime a staggering economy is like chasing a mirage,” T.R. Bhat, former general secretary of All India Bank Officers’ Confederation, wrote in The Wire when the decision was announced.
Today a delegation of four officers’ organisations met Shri Rajeev Kumar, Finance Secretary and had a threadbare discussion on various issues related to our strike call on 26th & 27th September’19. All of the undersigned attended the meeting. ……(1) pic.twitter.com/vAwDNkFyBb
— AIBOC (@AIBOC_) September 23, 2019
Earlier this year, Bank of Baroda (BoB) was merged with Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank to become the third biggest bank in the country.
Also read: Can Bank Executives Go on Strike?
The unions said that Kumar’s response to forming a committee consisting of all concerned parties to address the issues arising out of the proposed merger was positive.
“The issues related to mergers, wage revision, the full mandate from the remaining five banks, incorporation of Section 17(A) of PC Act, 2018, as a part of the service conditions, introduction of full five-day week, reduction of cash transaction hours, issues related to retirees and also scrapping of selling of third party products were discussed threadbare,” a joint statement by four officers’ organisations said.
Also read: Will a New Round of Forced Public Sector Bank Mergers Work?
All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA), Indian National Bank Officers’ Congress (INBOC) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO) are the four organisations that had issued the strike notice.