Demanding a solution to the problems of demonetisation and recovery of bad loans, bank employees' and officers' unions on Friday called for an all-India strike on 7 February.
In a joint statement, the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), the All India Bank Officers Association (AIBOA) and the Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) said ever since the central government announced demonetisation on 8 November 2016, the entire banking sector plunged into turmoil. The unions added:
But even now we find that there is an acute shortage of cash supply to banks with the result that bank branches are not able to honour even the restricted payments... Most of the ATMs are still non-functional and even where they are functioning, there is no cash to dispense.
The unions also alleged that there was no transparency in supply of cash to banks.
While most of our banks are still suffering from short supply of cash, one cannot understand how a few private banks get uninterrupted cash supply.Pradip Biswas, General Secretary, BEFI
It was reported that when bank branches were starved of cash, large amounts of new currency notes were seized from some rich individuals.
"But there is no answer as to how such huge amounts of cash has gone out of the banks," said AIBEA General Secretary CH Venkatachalam.
The unions also alleged that when the common people are made to face such problems "in the name of curbing black money", the big bank defaulters are getting off "scot-free".
No action is being taken against the increasing menace of huge bad loans except for making provisions from profits, write-offs and desperate sale of NPAs (non-performing assets).S Nagarajan, General Secretary, AIBOA
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)