All our unions and members are aware of the committed standpoint of AIBEA that as an organisation we are totally opposed to privatisation of Banks as the same is not in the larger interest of our country, our economy and our people.
It was out of this conviction imbibed in the very womb of AIBEA, that our organisation from its inception in 1946 stands for nationalisation of Banks and public sector banking. It was out of this conviction that AIBEA launched a decade long intensive struggle in the 1960s and achieved the nationalisation of major private banks on 19th July, 1969 which remains as an important watershed in the economic and political scenario of our country. In the wake of ushering in of economic liberalisation policies in the 1990s, when the ownership in PSBs was being diluted, we had launched a bitter struggle. In 1999/2000 during the then NDA/BJP regime when the Bill was introduced for privatisation of Banks, AIBEA fought against the same. Since then, there have been repeated attempts to compromise on the ownership of PSBs and Committee after Committee has been recommending for privatisation of Banks. We have been consistently opposing these sinister moves through repeated strike actions. Even today, when banking sector is facing multiple challenges, the only solution is to strengthen the public sector banks. The fact is that the private sector defaulters and delinquents are the main cause of problems facing our Banks. But unfortunately, the Government has been fancying with the idea that privatisation of Banks is the remedy. In the recent months, these ides have been getting currency and repeated informations are being dished out in the media proposing privatisation of Banks.
Hence in our recent Central Committee meeting of AIEBA, it was decided that AIBEA should take steps to build up a campaign against such attempts of privatisation of Banks and also prepare for more struggles including repeated, intermittent and continuous strike actions depending the developments. In the meantime, since the ensuing Session of the Parliament will commence on 14th September, 2020, in the virtual meeting of the Office bearers of AIBEA held on 29-8-2020, it has been decided to observe 14th September, 2020 as ANTI-BANK PRIVATISATION DAY. Accordingly, the following programmes are given: • Badge Wearing on 14th September, 2020 • Postering campaign • Distribution of leaflets amongst members and general public. • Webinar against Bank Privatisation on 13-9-20 (Sunday)
We request all our unions and members to observe the programme effectively. We will also take up the matter with AIBOA and other like-minded organisations and with UFBU to decide on united actions on this issue