Sitharaman allays concerns of bank employees, assures 'not all banks will be privatised'

Issuing a response to the ongoing strike by bank employees, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday assured that not all banks will be privatized. Asserting that the interests of bank workers will be protected, the Finance Minister allayed concerns of bank workers by stating that their salaries and pension will be 'taken care of'. Nine unions of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) called for a two-day strike across the country against the government's policy to privatise the lenders. 

Addressing a press conference after the Union Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Nirmala Sitharaman said, "Even for those banks which are likely to be privatized, the privatized institutions too will continue to function after privatization; the interests of the staff will be protected. Interests of workers of banks which are likely to be privatized will absolutely be protected - whether their salaries or scale or pension, all will be taken care of." 

"We have announced a Public Enterprise Policy, where we have identified 4 areas where public sector presence will be there, in this, the financial sector too is there. Not all banks are going to be privatized," the Finance Minister added. 

In the same conference, Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Prakash Javadekar announced that the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved Revised Cost Estimates of Rs 9129.32 crore for strengthening of Transmission and Distribution in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. The Cabinet also approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Maldives on cooperation in sports and youth affairs. 

Earlier in the day, while responding to a query in the Rajya Sabha, Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted that all private and public sector banks have been conducting government-related business. When asked if public sector banks will weaken by allowing private banks to conduct government-related business, Sitharaman said that the attempt is to bring a 'level playing field'. This is being done because the business is growing and many more citizens are approaching the banks. As it was highlighted, the ease of doing business will have to be extended to all customers, she said.

"Some customers are already benefiting from private banks from such services. The attempt now is to bring a level playing field. Some private banks are already doing, all public sector banks are doing, why not extend to all private sector banks so that everybody gets an equal opportunity," she explained.

Bank strike continues on day 2

Bank strike continued for day-two on Tuesday, led by nine unions of public sector banks (PSBs) in the country, opposing government's policy to privatise the lenders. Customers will be inconvenienced to get services such as cash withdrawals, deposits, cheque clearances, remittance services. 

United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions, had given a strike call for March 15 and 16. Members of UFBU include All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA) and Bank Employees Confederation of India (BEFI). Others are the Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO). Unions on Monday said nearly 10 lakh staffers across the country have participated in the strike, terming it a "success".

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget speech for 2021-22 said the government will privatise two more public sector banks going forward. The government has already privatised IDBI Bank by selling its majority stake in the lender to LIC in 2019, and has merged 14 public sector banks in the last four years.