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Employees of nationalised banks staged protest against privatization

Surat: On Monday, about 4,200 employees from 154 branches of 12 nationalised banks in the city demonstrated against the Central Government’s intended attempt to privatise nationalised banks under the banner of the Gujarat Bank Workers Union.

Employees demonstrated and chanted anti-government chants in support of the proposed privatisation of nationalised banks. Employees put badges on their arms to oppose the government’s privatisation initiative.

Bank union representatives suggested that the government’s intended effort to privatise nationalised banks would be bad for the economy. 14 banks were nationalised on July 19, 1969, with six more joining in 1980.

Since the implementation of globalisation, privatisation, and liberalisation policies in 1991, the country has seen the emergence of private banks. In 1969, there were 8,000 private bank branches in metropolitan regions and 1,600 in rural areas. These private banks now run 1.40 lakh branches in metropolitan regions and 55,000 branches in rural areas.

Union leaders claimed it is a well-planned government policy to raise the stock market values of the few private banks in the name of privatising the nationalised banks.

Leaders asserted that the government seriously consider recovering bad debts rather than spending time on the privatisation of public-sector banks. The government should make public the identities of the major defaulters who have not paid their bank debts and take criminal action against them.

The bank executives also asked that deposit interest rates be raised, service charges be decreased, and cooperative banks be restructured and revitalised.