RBI should supply enough cash or suspend all cash transactions: Bank Employees

New Delhi, Dec 9 (KNN) After the Opposition, it is now the bank employees who have threatened to stage protest if they are not supplied adequate cash at bank branches and if all the ATMs are not made functional.

The All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) has announced that they shall go on strike if RBI fails to accept their terms of demands.

“On 14th December, we are going to hold demonstrations throughout the country, We will give a memorandum to the RBI and if our demands are not met then will call not out the strike,” C H Venkatachalam, Secretary General, AIBEA, told KNN.

He said that banks are not getting sufficient cash and customers are imposing their problems on us.

“RBI should immediately supply adequate cash to all the bank branches and make all the ATMs functional,” added Venkatachalam.

It has been seen that people are accusing banks for not receiving the cash. But banks association is saying that they are not getting from the RBI. Besides working for the extra hours they are facing public oppression.

“Government has withdrawn the currency but they are not replacing. People are now shouting at us, abusing us and breaking the counters. I can’t manage all this, police is not giving protection,” said Venkatachalam.

While talking about his decision of strike, he said that RBI should stop giving false statements on “enough cash” and compensation should be given to the employees for their extra hours of work.

“RBI is giving statements of supplying money but they are not giving cash to all the banks. And adequate compensation should be given to the bank employees and officers for the extra work,” he said.

If the association goes on strike, the existing problem of currency crisis will only increase and not easy for the government to tackle this bow which is now turning their side. 

C M Venkatachalam said if RBI is not able to supply the cash then it should suspend the cash transactions till the enough cash is supplied to the banks or tell the country to bear with us for 20, 30 days or 1 year because employees and public is suffering. 

While addressing a press conference earlier this week, AIBEA had said, “There are 2.20 lakh ATMs [in the country]. They were opened so that customers do not have to come to bank to get their money. But there is no money in the ATMs. Majority of the machines are not working because they have to be calibrated. We have asked for adequate supply of cash to bank branches '' he said.

“We demand that the government publish names of the defaulters, recovery laws be amended, fast track tribunal be set up for high-value loans, and criminal action be taken against wilful defaulters,” he said. (KNN/ RAS)