Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 18: A massive protest demonstration of bank employees was held today in Jammu in support of their demands.
Hundreds of bank employees and officers of all banks in Jammu converged this evening at about 5:30 at Shalamar Chowk and staged demonstration. Holding banners in their hands, the protesting employees raised slogans in support of their demands.
The demonstration was addressed by Arun Kumar Gupta, general secretary, Jammu Province Bank Employees Federation who informed the gathering about the pioneering role of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) which have transformed class banking to mass banking and are plying to ensure broad-based economic development in the country.
He said, “Instead of further strengthening public sector banking, Government is weakening PSBs with their present policies by starving them of required capital, human resources, allowing private hands through disinvestment and proposed privatization moves.” He said that managements of the banks do not care of bipartite settlement and violating it by outsourcing regular jobs in the banks.
Gupta further stated that managements of the banks are violating labour laws and are not honouring court judgments as well as understanding & commitments made with the Federation and are denying trade union rights. He also accused managements of retrenchments and victimizations of the employees.
“If bank managements continue with their unlawful and vindictive actions and do not agree to maintain bilateralism, we will be left with no option than to go ahead with the strike call,” Gupta asserted.
Tara Singh (president JPBEF) and A B Khajuria (president, PNBOA) said that one can see the orchestrated attempts to starve the banks of adequate capital and forcing them to go private. “The Government is also weakening PSBs by allowing free entry of private corporate and business houses to start their own banks and issuing licenses to open payment banks, small banks, etc,” they added.
They warned the managements of the banks of further protests and intensifying the agitation by the All India Bank Employees Federation (AIBEF) if the issues raised by the Federation in the strike notice are not resolved amicably.
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