Salary scale, salary structure and pension of employees will not be affected, says Sitharaman
NEW DELHI: In major relief for protesting Bank staff, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said there will be no changes to the pay scale, salary structure and pension of employees. FM Sitharaman affirmed that the interests of all the employees of the public banks, likely to be privatized, will be protected. FM Sitharaman also assured that not all banks will be privatized. Sitharaman also clarified that the banking space will continue to have public sector presence. FM Sitharaman’s remarks came amid a two-day banking strike called by a host of banking unions impacting regular banking operations across India. A staggering number of about 10 lakh employees took part in the Bank’s two-day strike.Also Read- Here is how SBI Bank customers can check their account balance with missed call, SMS
Here is what Nirmala Sitharaman said about bank privatization Also Read – SBI Recruitment 2022: Vacancies Notified for 48 Specialist Cadre Officer Positions, Apply Online at sbi.co.in
1) Bank employees will not lose their jobs. Read also – From IMPS transaction fees to LPG prices, CES rules set to change from February 1
2) The salary structure, PF salary scale, gratuities, pension and leave will not be modified or reduced.
3) The government will ensure that the interests of employees are protected at all costs.
4) Not all banks will be sold, Sitharaman said.
Salaries and pensions of Bank employees will remain unchanged
FM Sitharaman categorically mentioned that even if the banks were to be privatized, the interests of the employees would come first. She assured thousands of employees that their pensions and salaries would be protected should the banks opt for the privatization process. The interests of the workers of the banks likely to be privatized will be absolutely protected – be it their wages, their scale or their pension, everything will be taken care of, FM Sitharaman said during the press conference.
India needs banks like SBI
Referring to the merger of PSBs, FM Sitharaman said that India needs several more lenders the size of State Bank of India (SBI). FM Sitharaman further stated that the central government wants financial institutions to get more liquidity and more people to invest money in them to make the entities sustainable. The government wants the staff of these financial institutions to be able to carry out their duties, in which they have acquired skills over the decades, and manage the banks, the Union minister said.
Need for government institutions and PSOs to remain
In a press conference after attending a meeting of the Cabinet Economic Affairs Committee (CCEA) in New Delhi, FM Sitharaman said that the central government had announced that the presence of the public sector under the policy of state-owned enterprises would remain in certain areas. FM Sitharaman pointed out that the financial sector is included in this list. She mentioned that not all banks would be privatized.
The four strategic sectors in which the government will continue to be present, albeit at a bare minimum, are — atomic energy, space and defence; transport and telecommunications; energy, oil, coal and other minerals; and banking, insurance and finance
services.
Merger of banks under the Narendra Modi government
In the February 1 Budget 2021 Speech to Parliament, FM Sitharaman had announced that the government proposed to undertake the privatization of two public sector banks (PSBs) and a general insurance company in the financial year 2021. -22. The central government has so far merged 14 public sector banks over the past four years.
