The Hindu Business Line : Unions oppose BoI, Union Bank merger plan

Besides opposing the merger, they have other demands such as the immediate recruitment of 25,000 officers and discussions on service-related issues of officers.

Mumbai , Nov. 26

BANK unions have threatened to oppose the proposed merger of Union Bank of India with Bank of India.

"The union will go on strike immediately if the Government goes ahead with the proposal," Mr Shantha Raju, General Secretary, All India Bank Officers Confederation, said at a press conference here on Friday.

According to banking circles, the Finance Ministry has sent the merger proposal to the Reserve Bank of India for its view.

The RBI is expected to work out a scheme of merger, sources said.

The unions are against mergers as it will result in loss of employment. In this case, both are large banks and have been running profitably, a union official said.

There is no need to merge them and nothing much is going to be achieved from the merger, the official added.

In general, it is estimated that consolidation of banks may result in surplus staff of nearly 25 to 30 per cent.

In rural branches, mergers could result in the closure of 30 to 40 branches.

"In case of mergers, the larger bank will take control and do away with surplus staff," said Mr Raju.

It is desirable that the public oppose this through public interest litigation, he added.

Besides opposing the merger, the union also has other demands, such as the immediate recruitment of 25,000 officers and discussions on service-related issues of officers.

Also, sufficient autonomy to banks in matters pertaining to human resource development should be allowed, Mr Raju said.

According to a press release, the confederation is also opposed to the outsourcing of jobs.

The Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, has been reiterating that consolidation alone will give banks in India the muscle, size and scale to become world-class banks.

The Indian Banks' Association recently came out with a report on the banking industry, in which it suggested the "corporatisation" of public sector banks to simplify the process of consolidation.

On the issue of restructuring regional rural ranks, Mr Raju said RRBs cannot be compared to public sector banks. RRBs should be protected, he felt.

The confederation has set up an independent committee on alternative banking and financial policies, under the chairmanship of a former Finance Secretary, Mr S.P. Shukla.

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