Bank Union Gives Call For Strike On 25th September 2013

Canara Bank Employees' Union 

CIRCULAR TO ALL UNITS OF AIBEA & BEFI: 21-8-2013

Dear Comrades,

• TIME TO GET UP AND RESIST

• AIBEA-BEFI’S JOINT CALL FOR ALL INDIA BANK STRIKE ON 25TH SEPTEMBER, 2013

TO OPPOSE 

o ANTI-PEOPLE BANKING SECTOR REFORMS
o CONTEMPLATION FOR MERGER OF PSBs
o UNWARRANTED CLOSURE OF ASSOCIATE BANKS & MERGER WITH SBI
o RETROGRADE POLICY TO GIVE BANKING LICENCE TO CORPORTE AND BUSINESS HOUSES
o UNILATERAL IMPOSITION OF SERVICE CONDITIONS

The agenda of the Government on banking sector reforms is well-known to the bank employees of our country. Various struggles have also been undertaken by us in the past to oppose their moves. At a time, when the banking system is facing crisis due to very same set of policies in the USA, UK, Europe, etc., instead of learning lessons, our Government wants to blindly follow suit. Banking laws are being liberalised and regulations are being relaxed and loosened. Hence it has become an important duty of the trade unions to fight against these measures.

To add fuel to fire, the Government has been repeatedly talking of consolidation and merger of Banks. Even some groupings have been done to club the nationalised Banks into 7 groups of Banks. These cannot be taken as innocent moves and measures. We can easily discern and detect their idea. In the recent months, they are also talking of merging the Associate Banks with SBI. Why they need it? There is no answer. Who will be benefitted? There is no one to answer. Yet the Government wants to go ahead. In the recent weeks, the SBI top management is repeatedly talking of merger of its Associate Banks with itself. The attempt is to close down these Associate Banks and take them over by SBI. 

SBI is not the promoter of the Associate Banks. SBI is not the owner of these Banks, either. They are just investors and share-holders in the Associate Banks. These Associate Banks have their background and long history. Their fate cannot be at the whims of the SBI. Further all these Associate Banks are doing well and performing. What is the need to close them down? 

There are private Banks which are much behind the performance and business of the Associate Banks. Yet they continue and enjoy the blessings of the government. The impressive performance of Associate Banks is despite the policies of the SBI to dwarf them. If they had been free of SBI, they would have grown much bigger. Even today, they are very popular Banks in the main States where they operate. Then who is behind this idea of closing down the Associate Banks. It is not merger. It is murder. 

We not only oppose closing down the Associate Banks and merging them with SBI, we also demand that these Banks should be de-linked from SBI. They have strong potential to grow and will certainly perform better if freed from the clutches of SBI. But in their hurry to pursue their agenda, the top management of SBI wants to move unilaterally. Logic and reasoning has become the casualty. But we need to fight back.

Even in service conditions they want to be unilateral. They want to violate our agreement with the view to destabilize our service conditions.

The Government also wants to reverse the clock. Prior to nationalisation of the Banks, Banks suffered from urban-bias. Today, the achievements of our public sector banks are marvels. But they want to denigrate the public sector Banks. They want to further encourage private sector. They want to once again allow big business to enter banking sector. Already 26 applicants including from Tata, Birla, Ambani, L&T, Bajaj, Ruias, etc. have queued before the RBI. 

Hence it has been decided to give the call for agitation including strike. 

Comrades, the following programmes are to be implemented jointly and effectively.

o Campaign meetings, mass meetings, Extensive postering, distribution of leaflets, meeting MPs and other political personalities
o Delegation to Union Finance Minister and SBI Chairman by AIBEA/BEFI
23-8-2013 Deputation to respective MDs by leaders of the Associate Banks to convey our opposition for the proposed merger of Associate Banks with State Bank of India.

26-8-2013 Letters by all our unions to be addressed to Chairman SBI
27-8-2013 Letters by all our unions to be addressed to Governor, RBI 
28-8-2013 Letters by all our unions to be addressed to Finance Minister, GoI 
30-8-2013 Dharna before all Regional Offices / Zonal Offices of Associate Banks.
5-9-2013 Dharna before respective Head Offices of Associate Banks i.e. in Bangalore, Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Patiala by all our Unions
5-9-2013 Anti Merger Day – Badge Wearing
16-9-2013: Demonstrations in all centres and stations
23-9-2013: Demonstrations in all centres and stations
25-9-2013 All India Bank Strike

ISSUES AND DEMANDS:

STOP BANKING SECTOR REFORMS
STOP MERGER AND CONSOLIDATION OF BANKS
DO NOT CLOSE DOWN ASSOCIATE BANKS
DE-LINK ASSOCIATE BANKS AND MAKE THEM INDEPENDENT BANKS
STOP BANKING LICENCES TO CORPORATES AND BUSINESS HOUSES

We call upon all our unions and members to make the programme and strike action a total success.


C.H. VENKATACHALAM
GENERAL SECRETARY
AIBEA