Mangalore: Banking Law Amendments Evoke Outrage Among Employees

Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (DV)

Mangalore, Dec 20: At the call of All India Bank Employees' Association, All India Bank Officers' Association and Bank Employees' Federation of India, thousands of employees and officers working in nationalised banks and private sector banks observed a one-day all-India bank strike here on Thursday December 20, against the decision of the union government to pass Banking Law Amendments.

The protestors also opposed attempts to merge banks in the name of functional improvement, schemes to bail out corporate defaulters and demanded a stop on licenses to corporate houses to start their banks.  

Addressing the protesters P R Karanth, president of South Kanara District Bank

Employees' Association  and joint secretary All India Bank Employees Association slammed the government for amending the Banking Law and said the UPA has moved amendments to the Bank Regulation Act section 12(2) enhancing voting rights in private banks from 10% to 20%. By this the corporate houses within Indian and foreign direct investment (FDI) and institutional direct investment will get control over 24 old-generation private sector banks.

"Whose savings are in these banks? This is nothing but corporate loot of the public money deposited in the bank. Public money deposited by ordinary working class and middle class should be used for the welfare of common people and not for corporate loot or for their own profit," he said.

K Raghava secretary of All India Bank Officers Associations said the law is against the common man. "We should protest against this. It is an indirect way to sell banking sector to the foreign corporate," he said.

Madava secretary of Bank Employees Federation of India said Manmohan Singh, Chidhambaram and Montek Singh Ahluwalia have passed these laws and are trying to loot the common people. On February 20 and 21, 2013 All India Bank Employees Association will hold a strike throughout India, he said.

Vincent D’Souza, secretary, South Canara District Employees Associations, Walter Lasrado, president of Corporation Bank Employees Union and others were present.