The conciliation meeting between the Bank Unions and the government was held on Tuesday after the unions called for a two-day strike from December 6-17 against the government's plan to privatise public sector banks. The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Labour Commissioner S.C Joshi, Gopal Bhagat, Deputy CEO Bank of India, and representatives of the All India Bank Officers' Confederation. Bank Unions demand a clear-cut statement of intent from the government that the bill will not be tabled during the winter session, and that the government does not pursue the agenda of privatisation. In the meeting, the government ensured the Bank unions that the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021 is only listed during the winter session and may not necessarily be passed. "Once a bill is listed, it is almost like a court case, and it will eventually be passed," said Soumya Datta, General Secretary, All India Bank Officers' Confederation. "The statement has to come from the Minister either from the floor of the parliament or a press statement," added Datta.
Dutta further added that the impact of the consolidation of ten PSBs into four on the overall performance of the PSBs is unclear. "What benefits have accrued to those banks and their customers following the mega-mergers?" The Union Government has listed the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 for introduction, consideration and passing in the winter session of parliament. The bill seeks to amend the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Acts, 1970 and 1980 and the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to facilitate the privatisation of public sector banks. The government had in Budget 2021-22 announced its intent to take up privatisation of two PSBs during the year and approval of a policy of strategic disinvestment of public sector enterprises, she said in the Lok Sabha. The bill will bring down the minimum government holding in the PSBs from 51 per cent to 26 per cent. The central government has already merged 14 public sector banks in the last four years. Cabinet Committee on Privatisation is yet to decide two candidates for privatisation. The Bank Unions say that the strike will be called off once the bill is withdrawn. As per the data provided by the latest Annual Report of the Reserve Bank of India, bank frauds worth Rs. 4.36 lakh crore were detected between April 2017 and March 2021. Datta said that the Union Government should disclose the names of the top 100 account holders who were detected to have committed bank frauds Comptroller and Auditor General of India had recommended in its that the Department of Financial Services should ensure the increase in the quantum of NPA recoveries of the PSB. Still, nothing has been done in this regard, he added.