STRIKE AGAINST INTRODUCTION OF BANKS LAWS (AMENDMENT) BILL 2021

On the second day of two days strike on the call of UFBU a demonstration was held in front of SBI main branch buildings, Sector 17, Bank Square, Chandigarh.  Speaking on the occasion Shri Deepak Sharma from AIBOC said that Public Sector Banks are nation builders and life line of the country. They have humungous value of assets, and lakhs of crores of funds with them. It would be irrational and, rather, mischievous and an ulterior motive to place the huge network of bank branches, infrastructure and assets of Public Sector Banks in the hands of private enterprises/business houses or corporates. This would incontrovertibly result in denial of easy, next door and safe banking to the populace of the country. This would also result in denial of convenient, economical banking services to the common man. This is a retrograde measure for a developing country like ours where banking network needs to be spread further, with a sense of social responsibility also, which would be highly lacking if banks are privatized.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Jagdish Rai from AIBEA said that Public Sector Banks are the life line of the country. He said that if we see the recent banking history, we will find, whenever any Private Sector Bank gets into trouble, leaving no sources of recovery, the responsibility of their revival has been thrust upon Public Sector Banks. We strongly oppose any move to privatize public sector Banks. The public sector banks belong to the billions and billions of citizenry and we oppose any action to hand them over to the billionaires.  We have been opposing misplaced, retrograde banking reforms that were introduced in the year 1991 for the reason that these measures are aimed at privatization of public sector banks, than enabling them to be stronger. The intent has now been clearly exhibited by the demonstrated actions of the government through its discrimination in capitalization, dilution of stake in PSBs, irrational policies encouraging to Private Sector Banks, attempts of privatization, allowing licenses of Small Banks and Payments to private corporate, blaming the Public Sector Banks alone for the alarming position of NPAs, showing them in poor light.

While opposing the legislations to privatise the Banks, Sanjay Kumar Sharma, the convenor of UFBU (tricity)  said that despite opposition from the trade unions, stakeholders in the banking industry, the Government is unrelenting and continuing the misplaced reforms at neck breaking speed. As important stakeholder in Banking Sector, we owe a pious duty to the citizenry of the country to guard the Public Sector character of Banks in order to ensure safe, economic and easy access of banking facilities, sans exploitation, to the common man of the country and not to place the humungous assets, network of bank branches and lakhs of crores rupees in the hands of private corporate/businessmen and the business houses.  It has, therefore, become inevitable for the United Forum of Bank Unions to convey our protest and draw the attention of the Government  through agitational programmes and strike action to convey our protests and the Government. We seek the support of the people at large to our agitation and demand.