Bank unions to strike work on March 15, 16 against privatisation

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 9

Bank unions aren’t happy with the government’s plans to divest stake in public sector banks (PSBs).

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions, in a press conference today, released a statement opposing the announcements by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget 2021-22 and said the unions would go on a two-day strike on March 15 and 16 opposing privatisation.

According to the unions, instead of further strengthening public sector banks, the present policies are aimed at weaken these, by starving them of the required capital, human resources, through disinvestment and proposed privatisation. The unions said weakening public sector banks was unwarranted, unjustified and regressive step.

“We demand strengthening of public sector banks by adequate infusion of capital, human resources and strengthened statutory framework to recover the stressed assets. In the garb of efficiency and misconceived policy to shrug of the responsibility, the government has embarked upon privatisation of public sector banks. It is irrefutable that ‘privatisation’ neither brings efficiency nor the safety,” said Sanjay Kumar Sharma, convenor, United Forum of Bank Unions.

Innumerable private banks have failed around the world. If private enterprises are epitome of efficiency, there should not have been any NPAs from large private corporate entities at all. NPAs/stressed assets of the banking industry belong to private large corporate, which incontrovertibly and unquestionably demonstrate that private enterprises do not denote efficiency.

To impress upon the government on their demands, the bank employees and officers, under the aegis of the United Forum of Bank Unions, will go on a two-day strike on March 15 and 16 opposing privatisation of public sector banks, Sharma said.