By Tricitynews Reporter
Chandigarh 13th
February:- United
Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) is the umbrella forum for nearly a million bank
employees and officers represented by five workmen unions and four officers’
associations.
The Unions in the banking industry
have been fighting for more than 2 decades against the reform menace that was
introduced in the year 1991 and trying to halt the speed of the reforms
inasmuch as these reform measures are against the interests of general public
and labour force in the country.
The efforts of the successive
Governments are aimed towards wiping out the public sector character prevalent
in the country since long. As far as the banking industry is concerned, the
nationalization of banks was done with an objective to promote small savings,
inculcate self-sufficiency towards stabilized economy and primarily to reach
the priority sector, which was totally neglected by the class banks established
earlier.
In the name of reform measures, every effort is being made by the
successive Governments since 1991 to shift the control of public sector
entities to the private and foreign investors. In order to create a conducive
environment to the private and foreign investor’s further efforts are being
made by the Government to amend the labour laws to suit their needs. The
proposed amendments to labour and several other related laws of the land would
affect the entire labour force and also the trade unions working for the
welfare of the labour in the country.
It is disheartening to note that
public sector entities are permitted to hire people on contract instead of
providing the job opportunities to the millions of unemployed in the country.
The contract system is more dangerous for the reasons of underpayment of wages
as well as insecurity of the job. Even in banking industry, every effort is
being made to outsource the permanent jobs on contract basis.
Hence, UFBU is opposed to the
retrograde anti-people banking/labour reforms, the moves of the Government
infringing the hard-earned trade union rights and the hazardous practice of
outsourcing of permanent jobs.
The implementation of demonetization
and the effects of the same are known to everyone. The role and the performance
of bank employees during the implementation period was appreciated by each and
everyone including the top management functionaries, Government, customers and
the general public. It is a pity that the day and night hard work and suffering
of bank employees and officers are not given due recognition and the legitimate
compensation to employees and officers for the extra hours of work performed is
denied.
The cost of demonetization as well as
the business loss during the demonetization period of nearly two months will
have a cascading effect on the balance sheets of the banks, the brunt of which
would ultimately fall on the bank employees and officers alone. It is
imperative that the demonetization cost needs to be reimbursed to the Banks by
the Government.
The Government is very serious in
continuing the retrograde reform measures ignoring the real menace in the
banking industry i.e., alarmingly increasing bad loans. Wilful defaulters are
also on the increase. The whole country has so far witnessed that the method of
evading repayment also is maximum done by the big and corporate borrowers. The
economy of the country is affected. There is a need to fix accountability of
those responsible for the bad loans. Criminal action against willful defaulters
of bank loans can only reduce such types of irregularities in the banking
industry.
On the issues and demands mentioned above and various other
demands relating to improvements in service conditions of bank employees and
officers including retirees, it has been unanimously decided by the UFBU to
observe One Day All India Strike on the 28th February 2017.
We sincerely regret the inconvenience to the esteemed customers /
general public on account of strike by bank employees and appeal for their
moral support to our just cause.
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