Banker’s view over privatization and salary deduction for strike period of two days 15th and 16th March.

If you are thinking that after the second Saturday and Sunday i.e. March 13 and 14, March 15 and 16 are also bank holidays, then you are wrong. On March 15 and 16 some of bank unions called for strike and government warns them to deduct their salary of effecting dates.

Actually, somewhere in the media it is being told that 4 days banks are closed, while elsewhere they are writing that 4 days is a bank holiday. While 15 and 16 March is not a bank holiday, it is a strike.

According to union officials, Unlike other government departments If a banker calls for a strike  the salary of employees would be deducted for the effected duration. As  per union officials this is discriminating step against bankers. 

Why are bankers getting their own salary cut off?

Bank strike has been announced in the country on 15 and 16 March. In protest against privatization, bank workers are forced to get their salaries cut. Millions of bank workers will participate in the strike. They will oppose the policies of the government regarding privatization of banks.

In the budget this year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the privatization of two public sector banks (PSBs). The United Forum of Bank Unions, comprising nine unions, called a two-day strike against the proposed privatization of two state-run banks.

The fear – Then the government job will be over:

It is also being told in the protests that from where will the youths who are preparing for government jobs today avoid government jobs in future? It is a mischief of the government that on the one hand, in the election campaign, they are showing dreams of government jobs and on the other hand, the government jobs are being eliminated by privatizing the government companies.

Is privatization of public banks the only cure?

Privatizing public banks is not the solution to the problem, privatization will hide the real problem. Even after nationalization of banks, private sector banks were bankrupt and were merged with public sector banks. There is a need for structural reforms rather than privatization of public sector banks. There is a need for transparency and supervision of the functioning of public banks, not of bank privatization, so that the increasing NPAs of banks can be controlled and recovered.

Government undertakings are being sold continuously:

According to the protesters against privatization, protestors blaming to the government that government is constantly persecuting government companies, rather than improving the management, the enterprises are being sold. It has also been alleged that the government company, which is running profitably, is being handed over to corporates. 

This is the banker’s view over privatization and salary deduction for strike period of two days 15th and 16th March.