E-Paper
Staff protest move to merge associate banks with SBI
A massive rally was held here in front of State Bank of Patiala’s head office to protest against Centre’s move to merge SBoP with State Bank of India.
A massive rally was held here in front of State Bank of Patiala’s head office to protest against Centre’s move to merge SBoP with State Bank of India.
The BJP-led Centre in June had given the go ahead to merger of five associate banks of SBI with the parent bank.
The banking operations in public sector banks got affected with this one-day strike as a large number of bank employees were out on the street, protesting against the decision.
Punjab Bank Employees’ Federation general secretary S K Gautam said that the strike was held at all India level and it was a complete success. He regretted the inconvenience caused to the people but said that the Centre was forcing employees to protest due to its anti-banking policies
He said that instead of recovering bad loans and to take stringent measures against loan defaulters, the Central government was deliberately trying to shift the focus by merging associate and public sector banks
“We strongly oppose banking sector reforms which are aimed on privatisation and anti-worker labour law reforms,” he added.
Another member Vinod Sharma told that banking activities throughout the country remained paralysed on Friday and its responsibility lies with the Union government.
“The associate banks have grown and developed as exclusive banks with unique geographical and historical contexts and have existed for so many years efficiently. The merger is anti-people’s move, he said OBC Employees Union general secretary Ram Kumar said that they would intensify their agitation if the Centre does not stop the merger.
He said that their next protest would be held on September 3 along with central trade unions.
