At IDBI, employees are displeased with RBI’s stroke of pen that turned it private

At IDBI, employees are displeased with RBI’s stroke of pen that turned it private

PW Bureau

With a list of demands, the All-India IDBI Bank Officers' Association has served its notice to the lender's management and plans a one-day nationwide hunger strike on March 30

New Delhi: IDBI Bank employees are not happy with its classification as a private bank and are looking at ways to transfer to any other state-run lender where they can get the protection of pay and service. With the highest rating for customer service in the past couple of years, IDBI Bank has 17,500 employees on its payrolls in 1,890 branches in India.

Employees want an MoU promising status quo

"We also want a memorandum of understanding confirming that existing service conditions and welfare measures for officers will be protected till their retirement," AV Vithal Koteswara Rao, General-Secretary, All-India IDBI Bank Officers' Association, said.

"Once the notion of a private bank arises, not only employees, but also the general public, will lose as public sector banks' service is not profit-oriented," he said.

Workers association sends management list of demands

With a list of demands, the All-India IDBI Bank Officers' Association has served its notice to the lender's management and plans a one-day nationwide hunger strike on March 30.

On Thursday, RBI classified IDBI as a private sector lender for regulatory purposes, with effect from January 21.

This has come following Life Insurance Corporation of India's (LIC) acquisition of 51 percent of the total paid-up equity share capital of IDBI.

In April 2005, the RBI categorised IDBI Bank under a new sub-group called 'other public sector banks.'

As per the Central bank's letter to the IDBI Chairman on April 15, 2005, the 'other public sector banks' categorised "in view of the assurance to Parliament given on December 8, 2004, by the Finance Minister during the discussion on the Repeal Bill, 2003, that the government holding in IDBI Ltd would always be above 51 percent."

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