Bank strike cripples financial operations in Mysuru : Rashtra News
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Banking and financial operations were badly affected in Mysuru and surrounding districts on Thursday consequent to the bank employees’ strike against the Banking Law (Amendments) Bill 2021.
The strike was part of a nation-wide agitation called by various unions of bank employees under the aegis of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU).
More than 1,500 employees in Mysuru district alone, drawn from nearly 400 branches, including workmen and officer staff stayed away from their duties and staged a demonstration in front of the State Bank of India’s zonal office in the city. They raised slogans against the bill which is likely to be introduced in the current session of Parliament.
H. Balakrishna, convenor of UFBU in Mysuru, said that the customers were informed ahead of the stir which will also be held on Friday and will affect banking operations. The ATMs have been replenished with cash while cash deposit machines will remain functional and the public could make use of it. Friday’s demonstration will be at the SBI main branch on Sayyaji Rao Road.
The UFBU office-bearers said the proposed amendment will pave way for the privatisation of the existing public sector banks in future and affect the economy. The PSBs act as a catalyst to the economy and provide financial succour to the needy and the economically weaker sections of the society. They have also played a major role in the development of agriculture, small trade, small businesses, SSIs, transport etc., and the total advances by the banks had increased from ₹3,500 crore in 1969 to ₹110 lakh crore in 2021. The UFBU claimed that in the process, common people have been brought under the ambit of banking and when the world economy and banking suffered a crisis and a meltdown in 2008, the PSBs helped the Indian economy to sustain.
What is of concern is the huge non-performing assets (NPA) of the PSBs but the major share is that of the corporates and the big businesses and hence it is not the nationalisation of the banks which has failed but the default by the big corporates, according to the UFBU which provided a list of major defaulters.
It pointed out that what is equally significant was that time and again the PSBs have bailed out the ailing banks in the private sector. Recently the RBI has also cancelled the licences of a few private banks as a result of which the public confidence in private banks was eroding, according to the UFBU which called for withdrawal of the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill.
Employees of all the public sector banks took part in the strike.
( News Source :Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Rashtra News staff and is published from a www.thehindu.com feed.)