Mumbai:
Finance minister P Chidambaram has sought to allay
fears of job losses and bank closures amidst nationwide
protests by employees of banks, including the RBI, saying
that the there was no government move to privatise public
sector banks either through the "back-door or front-door".
Chidambaram's
assurances came even as a one-day strike in protest against
outsourcing functions of state-run banks disrupted banking
operations across the country,
Three
major banking sector unions All India Bank Employees
Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers Association
(AIBOA) and Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI)
joined the stir in protest against the Reserve
Bank of India's decision to outsource banking activities
to private parties. However, employees of two major public
sector banks the State Bank of India and Bank of
Baroda did not participate in the strike as the
striking unions had no representation in these banks.
The
unions demanded changes in the amendments to the Banking
Regulation Act, Clause 12.2, which removed the cap on
voting rights even as the RBI approved 74-per cent foreign
direct investment in private sector banks in the country.
They also called for wider options in the pension scheme
to bank employees.
Responding
to a calling attention motion in the Lok Sabha, Chidambaram
said the RBI had only issued guidelines on outsourcing
and that should not be construed as directives for privatisation.
"These
are only draft guidelines... It is premature to come to
any conclusion", he said.
Chidambaram
said the RBI would take into consideration "all upsides
and downsides" before finalising the guidelines and
wanted employees and the political parties backing the
unions to have greater faith in the banking sector regulator.
RBI, he said, was doing a good job and its policies had
helped to strengthen the country's banking system and
bring down the non-performing assets of banks.
While
the government was committed to use of innovative methods
for financial inclusion and outreach, he said there was
no
basis of fears that
corporates would usurp banking jobs in the garb of outsourcing.
Public sector banks had opened 1,026 branches even in
2005-06, he pointed out.
"A
matter cannot be frozen in a point of time. We must pursue
innovative, forward looking and progressive measures",
he said.
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