PNS | Vijayawada
The 26th all-India conference of the Canara Bank Employees Union is being organised in Vijayawada. Speaking on its sidelines, All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) general secretary Ch Venkatachalam said that the recruitment of employees, more particularly clerical cadres, had affected the functioning of the banks.
He said more than two lakh posts were lying vacant in the public sector banks. The AIBEA would organise a strike in September demanding that the government take up the recruitment process. “If need be, we will go on an indefinite strike to save the banking system and oppose the privatisation of the public sector banks,” he said.
Venkatachalam said that the real problem that the banks were facing was the non-recovery of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs). While the operating profits were more than Rs.2 lakh crore, the net profits would be less than Rs.1 lakh crore, he said. The banks were spending the remaining amount on bad debt provisioning etc., he added.
The banks have written off more than Rs.10 lakh crore loans. The government was not acting tough on wilful defaulters. The rich and corporate people were being allowed to go scot-free even though they were wilful defaulters, he alleged.
AIBEA secretary and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Bank Employees Federation general secretary BS Rambabu said that the government was not recruiting the staff intentionally. While there were about 9.5 lakh permanent employees, more than 25.5 lakh employees were working on a contract basis or as banking correspondents and bank mitras. The government was requested to regularise their services, he said.
Canara Bank Employees Union general secretary K Srikrishna said that the employees were working in a stressful environment. The government should take up recruitment at the earliest, he said.
