Banks in Goa will be shut on February 28, as the bank employees will join a nation wide strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU). Goa Bank Employees’ Association has announced to support the one-day strike in protest against demonetisation and “ill-conceived” reform measures by the Union Government.
UFBU is a forum for four officers’ associations and five bank employee unions.
Costs incurred by the banks due to the demonetisation exercise need to be reimbursed by the central government, said A. M. Pereira, General Secretary of the Goa Bank Employee’s Association.
Pereira mentioned that the government ignored the problem faced by the banking sector due to growing bad loans. “The whole country has so far witnessed that the method of evading repayment also is maximum done by the big and corporate borrowers. The economy of the country is affected. There is a need to fix accountability of those responsible for the bad loans. Criminal action against willful defaulters of bank loans can only reduce such types of irregularities in the banking industry,” he said in an IANS report.
Periera also highlighted that the hardship and sacrifices undertaken by the bank employees were not appreciated or compensated. “Officers were also made to work for long hours and on Sundays and holidays without compensation or with notional payment,” Pereira said in the same report.
“The cost of demonetisation, as well as the loss of business during the period that lasted for nearly two months, will have a cascading effect on the balance sheets of the banks, the brunt of which would ultimately fall on the bank employees and officers alone,” he added.
Goans may face difficulty in conducting their transaction on the day. It is advised to conclude the necessary transaction of the day prior to the strike.
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