Bank Employees Lead Mass Demand For Jobs in Public Sector Banks

Bank employees across India undertook a mass campaign demanding adequate recruitment in the Public Sector Banks (PSBs). Employees as members of All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) took to X (formerly known Twitter) to demand jobs in the PSBs.

Apart from adequate recruitment, the other demands that resonated in the tweets were - ‘No Late Sitting’ of bank staff after stipulated office hours and opposition to outsourcing.

Mass Mobilization on Social Media
AIBEA, the largest bank union in India having more than 5 lakh members led a mass mobilisation and received overwhelming support from bankers across India.

There were in total 1.16 lakh tweets with hashtag of #2LakhBankJobs. As per the circular of the AIBEA, centres and units were formed at different places consisting of war rooms from where the campaign was undertaken in a collective manner.

Anguish Over Staff Shortage
The campaign on platform of X paved a way for expression of the simmering anger and anguish among the bank employees which was acknowledged via tweets.

Assam Provincial Bank Employees Association, an AIBEA affiliated union tweeted, “We have been witnessing increased cases of stress and anxiety among bank employees because staff strength in banks have gone so low that the bank employees have to work over time. This can only be resolved by adequate recruitments.

Pic: Badge Protest by Bank Employees in Andhra Pradesh
Pic Credit: Union Bank Employees' Association

Likewise, Maharashtra State Bank Employees Federation (MSBEF) affiliated to AIBEA pressed the issue of jobs. It tweeted, “Our youth’s potential is untapped while we ignore the need for more bank jobs. @narendramodi, this is a missed opportunity for India's growth.”

Pic: A Bank employee with Badge of Recruitments, No Outsourcing and Sitting Late
Pic Credit: Manesh VS

Another X handle raised the question of unemployment of youth and tweeted, “our country’s youth is suffering from unemployment and in the PSBs, the decrease of workmen staff is by 24%. Recruit workmen staff for better customer service and youth.

Prior to the online campaign, AIBEA state units observed a day as ‘Badge Wearing Call’ wherein they demanded adequate recruitment of Clerks & Sub staff in all banks, no late sitting in banks and no outsourcing of jobs in PSBs.

The Dilemma of Profits vs Shrinking Workforce
12 Public Sector Banks witnessed a profit surge of 57% in 2022-23 on the contrary, their employee count has drastically fallen.

Meanwhile, in a recent report, Kanal also mentioned the rising employee count in private sector banks will soon surpass the numerical strength of the PSBs.

As per Devidas Tuljapurkar, General Secretary MSBEF, the count of officers in PSBs is on the rise whereas clerks and sub-staff are decreasing. 

Pic Credit: AIBEA

Reacting to the ongoing campaign on jobs for PSBs, AIBEA General Secretary Ch Venkatakachalam told Kanal, “With the increase in the customer base and number of accounts, banks need more people to cater such functions but there’s a drastic decrease in the Class III and Class IV employees. Banks are reluctant to recruit these cadres, so, we apprehend privatisation of banks which may ultimately lead to a decrease of the union's numerical strength and hence we are opposing it.”

Agitation to Intensify
AIBEA seems to have executed the initial step of awareness for people and as part of a bigger agitation that is going to take place in upcoming days across every public sector bank. 

AIBEA General Secretary Venkatachalam said, “In the month of December, there would be bank wise strikes followed by two days of all India strikes in all banks on 19-20 January 2024.”