All India banks to go on nationwide strike on Dec 26 to oppose merger of 3 banks

New Delhi, Dec 17 (KNN) The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which represents nine top Bank unions of the country, has called for an All India Bank strike on December 26 to oppose government’s decision to amalgamate Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank.

Calling the move unwarranted, the General Secretary of All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), CH Venkatachalam said “Move would not be beneficial to the economy and the people at large.”

In a release, he said that the merger will also affect the interests of employees, their jobs and job security.

Noting that several villages were yet to receive banking services, he said, "There is a huge exclusion of people. Banks need to be expanded. No need for consolidation". 

Referring to the government's contention that the merger would make the banks stronger, Venkatachalam said, "There is no evidence to this conclusion. Last year six banks were merged with SBI. But SBI has not become any bigger.”

The mergers of the banks would "surely" result in closure of branches and would endanger job security, he added. 

Urging the government to take strict measures to recover bad loans, the association said the government was instead trying to divert the attention and focus on resorting to bank mergers. 

Claiming that the total NPA in Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank was Rs 80,000 crore, he sought to know if these bad loans would automatically be recovered if these banks were merged.