Bankers to oppose RBI's outsourcing

Two bankers' associations will oppose RBI's move to outsource clearing operations and observe May 16 as a day of protest.

Two prominent bankers' associations will oppose RBI's move to outsource clearing operations and observe May 16 as a day of protest, association sources said.

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General Secretary of the All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC) and national convenor of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) Shantha Raju told reporters that an 'anti-outsourcing day' would be observed by the unions in RBI, banking, insurance and mutual fund sectors across the country.

The unions were 'totally opposed' to creation of a private corporate called National Payment Corporation of India by the RBI for taking over the clearing operations, he said.

A total of 65,000 branches of commercial banks had established their efficiency in the field of clearing operations, where a large number of transactions were put through every day under the supervision of the RBI, at 1100 clearing houses throughout the country, he said.

If the clearing operations were privatised, 15,000-20,000 employees would be rendered "surplus", he said, adding one million jobs would be affected due to outsourcing.

"It is most unfortunate that the RBI is taking several anti-people and anti-labour initiatives relating to outsourcing of certain core business activities of banks including its own functions," said Raju, also the general secretary of the All India State Bank Officers' Federation (AISBOF).

Raju is here to attend an AISBOF executive committee meeting beginning today. More

It was apprehended by the associations that certain 'sensitive' functions such as debt management, foreign exchange operations, currency management were in the pipeline for being outsourced.

The issue of outsourcing was discussed at length in the recent meeting of All India Coordination Committee of Unions in the Financial Sector (AICCUFS) at Mumbai and it was decided to take up a national campaign against the move and also discuss the current employment in this sector.

The AICCUFS also demanded immediate withdrawal of work already outsourced, recruitment of adequate number of staff and officers in banks, RBI, SBI and its associate banks and regularisation of contractual labour.

The unions would also oppose any government move to invite foreign direct investment in public sector banks and privatisation efforts of 27 banks, which were doing well.