Exploitation of Government Bank

AIBEA is protesting privatisation of IDBI and merger plan for other banks. They say rise in bad debts is due to government, but they do not say why they did not protest misuse of banks by politicians and why did they not stop exploitation of bank by bank staff. They do not say why did they allow the loot of banks through bank staff for decades and why did they remain silent spectator of all evil activities. After all , top leaders of workman employees and that of officers union are also one of members of board of directors of each Bank.

I agree merger of banks is not the solution and I agree that privatisation of bank is also not the solution to bank's problem. But I feel that even maintaining current status of government bank is also not the medicine to cure current health of public sector banks. Merger of Banks can only increase size of bank's volume of business but cannot change the heart and mind of bank staff and that of politicians who used banks to serve their self interests at the cost of common men.

 Banks were nationalised in the year 1969 only to stop exploitation of poor people by promoters of private banks. And now the same government is inclined to handover government bank to private sector to stop exploitation of bank by the government and by government tagged bank staff. Wine remains the  same but bottle changes from time to time.

Culture of flattery by bank staff as well as by trade union leaders to bosses of banks to serve their self interest is root cause of sickness of banks.It is leaders of trade unions like AIBEA, BEFI, AIBOC who have contributed a lot in loot of banks and in spoiling work culture. It is they who gave protection to dishonest staff at the cost of good staff. It is they who  used power of unity and militancy of bank staff to blackmail management of each Bank and to serve their selfish motto only. These leaders could not even protect interest of their member staff because they slowly became flatterers of top officials of banks .   These leaders jointly and severally looted banks in their own style and protected each other whenever their evil works got exposed.

Until there is change in attitude of bank staff and that of politicians we cannot dream of improvement of health of Banks, neither by keeping them as fully government bank nor by partial privatisation of them.

We will have to stop malpractices from top to bottom in banks as well as in politics. Banks top bosses get success in their loot only by taking support of trade union leaders.

 All top officials of every bank first try to please trade union leaders. They shut the mouth of these leaders by obliging them in various ways. When they get success in bringing leaders in their good book, top bank officers start acting arbitrarily and in looting it.

 As such trade union leaders are as responsible and accountable as top bosses and politicians are responsible and accountable for ill health of banks.

If each staff , each officer and each trade union leaders become conscious of their duties towards their organisation along with their rights  , no power on earth can make banks sick. They could have built pressure on politicians to make legal set up stronger to recover dues from Bank loan defaulters. They could have stopped corrupt bank officers in selling promotion to flatterers. They could have stopped campus recruitment and arbitrarily allowing bank management to pay higher salary to freshers. And so on.....

Bank officers  who are considered non performers by management of public sector government banks become star performers when they leave public banks and join private banks for making their career bright. Staff associated with government banks are as such not bad. But the corruption at higher level make and convert even good performer to become a bad performer or leave bank for other better job. Officers in public bank who do not act in support of top bosses and who are not flatterer to top bosses  are forced to leave banks .

Trade union leaders should try to understand and make it clear to common men why after all bank officers become slave to higher bosses in public banks. They should tell the people why bank officers are more loyal to their bosses and not to their organisation. Trade Union leaders associated with AIBEA or AIBOC  should introspect and say why bank's health deteriorated year after year even though they had one member in boards of each bank to protect the interest of their staff members as also to the bank they represented.

Burden of Non Performing Assets in Banks is not creation of one or two years but it has been concealed for years and decades by clever corrupt officials to hide their evil works. Bank staff are now put in the category of corrupt officials or non-performing officers .

Who are responsible for such pathetic condition of public sector banks only?

Trade Union Leaders  should say why profitability of public banks is on increase whereas that of private banks is either getting reduced or in control.

Trade Union Leaders  should say why government is constrained to hand over the management of public banks to private sector bankers? 

Banks were nationalised in the year 1969 with a purpose to give relief to poor villagers, poor farmers  and poor traders who were exploited local moneylenders . Banks were nationalised to give relief to bank employees who were exploited by promoters of private banks and who were forced to sit late hours and  paid less salary compensation.

Trade Union Leaders should say why instead of protecting bank staff in particular and bank as a whole , they became yes-man of top officials of management in allowing corruption in recruitment, promotion, lending, buying of goods and services for banks and in all types of  works related to furnishing, renovation  and taking over of premises for branches opened.

They should say why honest and good performing officers were transferred to critical places frequently and dishonest officers were given cream posting . Misuse of power of transferring an officer or power of promoting and rejecting an officer in promotion processes used to take place by top officials always taking indirect support and concurrence of trade union leaders. It is due to large scale corruption and rampant yesmanism at all levels that good officers and good clerks discarded promotion processes and thought it better to avoid taking higher responsibility on their shoulder. Bank management got freedom to give promotion and to transfer an officer strictly as per their whims and caprices.Trade Union Leaders used to give indirect support to heinous this act of top management . Now when health of banks has gone sick, these leaders shed Crocodile Tears and ask government not to privatise banks. At least they do not have moral to put such demand.

However ,I am also of strong view that Privatisation of banks which are now under public sector will be a disastrous act and there is no doubt to me that these private banks will prove to be more disastrous the present public banks are. We should remember that in the year 1969 , the then government had to nationalise private banks only due to evil culture in private banks and with a purpose of accelerating social welfare works from government banks. There is still need of social welfare work and government of India cannot ignore this pious work of social and financial inclusion. It is the duty of elected government to give all possible financial support to weaker section of the society as per directive principles of Constitution. And it is bitter truth that even after seven decades of freedom, governments of the past failed to improve financial condition of poor . Bitter truth is that even Today, more than 80 percent of population find if difficult to afford healthy food for their family.