6 Days Nationwide Bank Strike In December in Banks
Bank branches will remain closed for upto 6 days in December owing to bank strikes being called by banking union. The All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) has announced that it will go on strike on various days in the month of December 2023, demanding adequate recruitment and opposing outsourcing of permanent jobs.
AIBEA general secretary C H Venkatachalam had pointed out via his tweet that unemployement has risen significantly since 2019 to 2023, demanding adequate reqruitment in all banks and opposed outsourcing of regular jobs.
AIBEA said that in the month of December 2023, the banking association will go on for 6 days strike. Check out the following dates:
December 4: There will be an all India bank strike in Punjab National Bank (PNB), Punjab and Sindh Bank and State Bank of India (SBI)
December 5: There will be an all India bank strike in Bank of Baroda and Bank of India
December 6: There will be an all India bank strike in Canara Bank and Central Bank of India
December 7: There will be an all India bank strike in Indian Bank and UCO Bank.
December 8: There will be an all India bank strike in Union Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra
December 11: There will be an all India bank strike in all Private Banks.
Banks unions call for two-day strike against proposed privatisation of PSBs
The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions, on Tuesday gave a call for a two-day strike from March 15 to protest against the proposed privatisation of two state-owned lenders. In the Union Budget presented last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the privatisation of two Public Sector Banks (PSBs)as part of its disinvestment plan.
The government has already privatised IDBI Bank by selling its majority stake in the lender to LIC in 2019 and merged 14 public sector banks in the last four years. It has been decided to oppose the government’s decision to privatise banks during the meeting of UFBU held on Tuesday, All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) general secretary C H Venkatachalam said.
“The meeting discussed the various announcements made in the budget of the central government regarding reform measures like privatisation of IDBI Bank and two PSBs, setting up of bad bank, disinvestment in LIC, privatisation of one general insurance company, allowing FDI in insurance sector up to 74 per cent, aggressive disinvestment and sale of public sector undertakings, etc,” he said.
The meeting observed that all these measures are retrograde and hence need to be opposed, he added. After deliberations, it was decided to give the call for a two-day — March 15 and March 16 — strike against the government’s moves, AIBOC general secretary Soumya Datta said.
Members of UFBU include All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA) and Bank Employees Confederation of India (BEFI).
Others are Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO)
IBA Confirms AIBEA - 11th BPS Arrears Payment Will Be Made in Dec 2020
IBA has confirmed to AIBEA that the permission for making payment of arrears along with revised salary as per 11th Bipartite Wage Settlement was pending with Government and almost finalized.
The promise for making the revised salary payment was made in meeting between IBA and AIBEA on 10th Dec 2020.
Detailed Circular :-
Bank Strike: Many PSU Banks to Remain Closed Across India on November 26
Issues & Demands
1. In support of the call of National Convention of Workers organized by by Central Trade Unions on 7 points common demands and
2. Demanding
- Stop moves of privatization of banks
- Strengthen public sector banks
- Take tough action against loan defaulters
- Recover the huge corporate NPAs
- Increase interest rate on bank deposits
- Stop outsourcing of regular banking jobs
- Make adequate recruitment in banks
- Scrap new pension scheme for bank employees
- DA linked pension for all bank employees including Co-op bank employees
- Revitalize and Strengthen Co-op banks and RRBs
Will digital transactions work?
The 26 November strike will not affect digital transactions and users can still conduct transactions through NetBanking or Mobile Banking. At the same time, you can withdraw money from ATMs.
Why has the strike being called?
The strike has been called against the anti-labour policies of the central government. The All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) on Tuesday said it would be joining the one-day nationwide strike on November 26 called by central trade unions to protest against the government’s anti-labour policies. Ten central trade unions, except Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, will observe a nationwide general strike tomorrow.
“The Lok Sabha in its recently held session has passed three new labour enactments by dismantling existing 27 enactments in the name of ‘Ease of Business’, which are purely in the interest of corporates. In the process, 75 per cent of workers are being pushed out of the orbits of labour laws since they will have no legal protection under the new enactment,” the AIBEA said in a release.
Which banks will remain closed?
Notably, AIBEA represents most banks except State Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank. It has four lakh bank employees from various public and old private sector and a few foreign banks as its members. In Maharashtra, around 30,000 bank employees from 10,000 bank branches of public sector banks, old generation private sector banks, regional rural banks and foreign banks are observing the strike, AIBEA release said.
The union said bank employees on November 26 will also focus on their demands such as opposition to bank privatisation, opposition to outsourcing and contract system, adequate recruitment, stern action against big corporate defaulters, increase in rate of interest on bank deposits and reduction in service charges.
AIBEA Supports For Government Undertaking of 'Yes Bank', Demands Accountability of RBI
All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) on Saturday said the Reserve Bank must be held accountable and the government should start taking all the private sector banks under its fold.
"At the same time, in order to protect the interest of the depositors and bank's clients, Yes Bank should be immediately brought under the public sector. One by one private banks, which are being glorified by the government, are failing. It is high time that the government should take a call and repeat 1969 - all the private banks should be brought under public sector," said C H Venkatachalam, General Secretary, AIBEA.
"The fact that Yes Bank has been ailing with various problems including issues of divergence, non-disclosures, mounting bad loans, inadequate capital, inability to augment capital, etc.
"But the RBI took its own sweet time and after a lot of damage, it has announced the moratorium creating panic amongst the depositors."
The bank union said the RBI, being the regulator, cannot be unaware of the ongoing in Yes Bank.
"If today, the bank has to be closed down due to mismanagement, the RBI cannot extricate itself from the responsibility. Every time, the RBI is failing to take timely steps to prevent such bank debacles. Same thing was observed during United Western Bank and Global Trust Bank," Venketachalam said.
The AIBEA said there were repeated audit reports which pointed out glaring lapses and yet the RBI did no act. Same thing has happened now.
"The government must make RBI answerable and accountable. It is strange that the RBI is putting various banks under Prompt Corrective Action - PCA restrictions. In fact, we feel that the government should bring the RBI under PCA norms," he added.
