Bank employees to hold all India strike on February 7

Three bank employees' organisations are planning to conduct all India strike on February 7, 2017, seeking the banks and the government to address issues concerning demonetisation and bad loans.

The All India Bank Employees'Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers Association (AIBOA) and Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) have issued a joint circular to its members announcing various protest including joint mass demonstrations, dharana and one-day strike starting from January 30, 2017.

The organisations alleged that the cash crunch is continuing and most of the ATMs are still non-functional, which lead to tension in banks. They alleged that while everyone appreciated the hard work of the bank employees, officers and managers in managing the situation in the banks, there is reluctance and hesitation in extending proper compensation for the extra hours of additional work.

"When the ordinary and common people are made to face such problems in the name of curbing black money, the big defaulters of bank loans are getting scot-free. No action is being taken against the increasing menace of huge bad loans in the banks except provisions from profits, write-offs and desperate sale of NPAs," says the circular.

The demands they put forward include the demonetisation issues such as ensuring supply of adequate cash to all banks including regional rural banks and co-operative banks; restore all ATMs immediately and ensure availability of cash in ATMs; announce CBI enquiry on instances of huge new currency notes with some big persons when branches are starving on cash and stop diluting autonomy of RBI in currency management.

It has also sought the government and banks to publish names of bank loan defaulters of Rs 1 crore and above, along with other measures to recover bad loans.