Public sector bank (PSB) employees went on a nationwide strike on Thursday to protest against the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011, affecting normal banking operations. Employees of four bank unions participating in strike are from All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA) and National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE).
The All India Bank Employees Associations termed the strike a 'total success', saying that transactions across banks were greatly affected. 'The strike has been a total success and all our members have responded enthusiastically. Cash transactions in branches, clearing house operations, money market, government transactions were greatly affected by the strike,' AIBEU General Secretary C Venkatachalam said in a statement. He said that employees of several banks conducted rallies across the country as part of the protest.
Operations were affected in those banks where these unions have a strong presence. The strike followed the Lok Sabha clearing Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill after the government dropped controversial provisions relating to allowing banks to trade in futures. The Rajya Sabha too passed the bill on Thursday. The Bill paves the way for foreign investments in the sector and establishment of new private banks. The Bill will allow the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to supersede the boards of private sector banks and increase the cap on voting rights of private investors in public sector banks from 1 to 10 per cent .
The amendment to the banking laws will dilute the interest of public sector banks, pointed out All India Bank Employees Association General Secretary C H Venkatachalam said. Besides, the striking unions are also against the merger plans of banks and opening of the sector to more private players. The unions claimed that about 7 lakh employees of various public sector banks participated in the strike.
Many banks, including Indian Bank and Corporation Bank, had informed customers beforehand that normal functioning of branches would be affected by the strike. In Tamil Nadu, over 35,000 public sector bank employees joined the anti-Banking Law (Amendment Bill) strike. In Chennai, over 9,000 bank employees participated in the strike, informed Venkatachalam. He said that the next course of action to be taken would be decided later.
AS EXPECTED, RS PASSES BILL
The Rajya Sabha on Thursday paved the way for corporate houses to enter the banking sector by approving the banking bill, a key reform legislation pending for long. It also passed the amendments to the debt recovery laws or Sarfesi law after a reply by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on the combined discussion on the two bills.
These two Bills — Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012, and Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012 — he said, will strengthen the financial sector and help in establishing large-sized banks, besides promoting financial inclusion. 'We need two-three world sized banks. China has three among the world's top 20. We have none. We need more banks,' argued the finance minister. 'Banks have opened 6,489 branches in 2011-12 alone, that is around 18-19 per day. We don't have the capacity to open more branch. We need banks,' added Chidambaram.
The Lok Sabha has already passed these two Bills. Chidambaram said that the amendment was not intended to give banking licences to big corporate houses alone but also to allow eligible public sector entities to enter the sector.
The Banking Bill was approved by the Lower House earlier this week after the government dropped the controversial clause concerning allowing banks to trade in commodity futures. Referring to Thursday's strike by bank unions against reforms, Chidambaram said that he could only request the bank employees to refrain from such activities.
The All India Bank Employees Associations termed the strike a 'total success', saying that transactions across banks were greatly affected. 'The strike has been a total success and all our members have responded enthusiastically. Cash transactions in branches, clearing house operations, money market, government transactions were greatly affected by the strike,' AIBEU General Secretary C Venkatachalam said in a statement. He said that employees of several banks conducted rallies across the country as part of the protest.
Operations were affected in those banks where these unions have a strong presence. The strike followed the Lok Sabha clearing Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill after the government dropped controversial provisions relating to allowing banks to trade in futures. The Rajya Sabha too passed the bill on Thursday. The Bill paves the way for foreign investments in the sector and establishment of new private banks. The Bill will allow the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to supersede the boards of private sector banks and increase the cap on voting rights of private investors in public sector banks from 1 to 10 per cent .
The amendment to the banking laws will dilute the interest of public sector banks, pointed out All India Bank Employees Association General Secretary C H Venkatachalam said. Besides, the striking unions are also against the merger plans of banks and opening of the sector to more private players. The unions claimed that about 7 lakh employees of various public sector banks participated in the strike.
Many banks, including Indian Bank and Corporation Bank, had informed customers beforehand that normal functioning of branches would be affected by the strike. In Tamil Nadu, over 35,000 public sector bank employees joined the anti-Banking Law (Amendment Bill) strike. In Chennai, over 9,000 bank employees participated in the strike, informed Venkatachalam. He said that the next course of action to be taken would be decided later.
AS EXPECTED, RS PASSES BILL
The Rajya Sabha on Thursday paved the way for corporate houses to enter the banking sector by approving the banking bill, a key reform legislation pending for long. It also passed the amendments to the debt recovery laws or Sarfesi law after a reply by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on the combined discussion on the two bills.
These two Bills — Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012, and Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012 — he said, will strengthen the financial sector and help in establishing large-sized banks, besides promoting financial inclusion. 'We need two-three world sized banks. China has three among the world's top 20. We have none. We need more banks,' argued the finance minister. 'Banks have opened 6,489 branches in 2011-12 alone, that is around 18-19 per day. We don't have the capacity to open more branch. We need banks,' added Chidambaram.
The Lok Sabha has already passed these two Bills. Chidambaram said that the amendment was not intended to give banking licences to big corporate houses alone but also to allow eligible public sector entities to enter the sector.
The Banking Bill was approved by the Lower House earlier this week after the government dropped the controversial clause concerning allowing banks to trade in commodity futures. Referring to Thursday's strike by bank unions against reforms, Chidambaram said that he could only request the bank employees to refrain from such activities.