Punjab Bank Employees Federation (Unit Ludhiana) holds massive demonstration in front of Canara Bank

Ludhiana, September 2, 2016: On the call given by AIBEA & AIBOA, bank Workmen and Officers are observing National General Strike on Friday agianst so called banking reforms by the Government. As per the decision, Punjab Bank Employees Federation (Unit Ludhiana) held a massive demonstration in front of Canara Bank, Bharat Nagar Chowk, Ludhiana.
Com.P R Mehta, President, Pb. Bank Employees Federation, Com.Naresh Gaur, Secretary, Com.Pawan Thakur, President, Punjab Bank Employees Federation (Ludhiana Unit), Com.Gurmeet Singh from AIBOA and Com.D P Maur, General Secretary, Joint Council of Trade Unions addressed the bank employees.

While addressing the bank employees, leaders of the Federation said that the Central Government is vigorously pursuing their policies of labour reforms aimed at weakening the labour laws in favour of the capitalists, corporates and employers and to the detriment of working class. These measures are part of their neo-liberal economic policies which are aggravating the problems of the workers and common masses.

Some of the aspects of the policies and proposals of the Government are as under:
• Amending all labour laws to empower the employers with unfettered rights to “hire and fire”
• Stripping the workers and trade unions of their rights
• Unlimited FDI in strategic sectors like Railways, Defence and Financial Sector.
• Farmers’ right to land and agri-workers’ right to livelihood are being sought to be drastically curbed and curtailed.
• The Govt. has not taken any step to curb price rise of essential commodities
• Failure to generate adequate employment
• Weakening public distribution system.
• Various State governments have brought about drastic anti-workers changes in basic labour laws viz. Industrial Disputes Act, Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, Factories Act and Apprenticeship Act, Trade Unions Act etc.

Increasing attacks in Banking Industry: Banking industry is no exception. In the Banking industry, we are already aware of the Government’s continuous attempts to push through their reforms agenda aimed at privatisation of banks, consolidation and merger of Banks, etc. RBI has announced ‘on tap’ bank licensing policy to allow more and more private banks. Licenses have been given to big corporate houses to start ‘Small Banks’ and ‘Payment Banks’. More and more private capital and FDI are being encouraged. Banks are sought to closed in the name of mergers and consolidation. Efficient and well-performing Associate Banks are sought to be closed and merged with SBI.

Bad loans have increased alarmingly to the extent of Rs. 13 lac crores. Instead of taking tough measures to book the culprits and recover the money, more and more concessions are being given to the defaulters. In the name of ‘cleaning Balance Sheets’, all these huge bad loans are sought to be taken out of public glare to silently write them off. Regional Rural Banks are sought to be privatised and the Bill has already been passed by the Government in the Parliament despite protests by our Unions. Primary Agricultural Co-operative Societies (PACs) are under threat of winding up. Urban Co-operative Banks are under threat of delicensing. Co-op. Banks are being forced to divert their SLR investments from Apex Banks thus reducing their capacity to re-finance lower tiers of co-op. Banks. Private sector executives are imposed on the public sector banks. All the Government schemes are being imposed on the Banks without proper infrastructure and manpower resulting harassment and problems faced by the bank staff. Bank officers are being denied regulated working hours. Permanent and regular jobs are being outsourced on contract basis and contract employees are being exploited. Contract employees’ basic rights are being denied. In this background and scenario, this movement is necessary to register our protest against these anti-worker policies of the Government.

Com. Harvinder Singh, Sr. Vice President, Com. Ashok Malhan, Com. Rajesh Verma, and Com. Parveen Moudgil, Vice Presidents, Pb. Bank Employees Federation were also present.