Gazette Notification on Associate Banks Merger: AIBEA

CIRCULAR No. 28/5/2017/5

23-2-2017

TO ALL UNITS AND MEMBERS:
Dear Comrades,

Government issues Gazette Notification
On closure of Associate Banks and
Merger with SBI w.e.f. 1st April, 2017.
Protecting our members in the Associate Banks – need of the hour
Clarion call from AIBEA’s All India SBI Emp. Association

Our units and members are aware of our prolonged and principled opposition to the process of consolidation and merger of Associate Banks with SBI. There have been innumerable struggles and strike actions on this issue in the last more than a decade. Especially, when there were attempts to close the remaining 5 Associate Banks for merger with SBI, there have been very intensified agitations and progrmames. Our units and members in the Associate Banks have also led many struggles including number of strike actions.

There have been nationwide campaign on this issue because the move to close down the Associate Banks was totally unwarranted, rather there was a genuine need to delink these Banks from SBI and make them autonomous. For a long time, these Banks have been subjugated to the total whims of SBI and hence the real growth of the Associate Banks was in fact thwarted. Many Banks which were smaller in size than these Associate Bank have grown much bigger now. But our demand for delinking Associate Banks from SBI was deliberately ignored and played down by the successive Governments.

However, in the name of Banking sector reforms, privatization and consolidation have continued to be their agenda and as a part of it, the Associate Banks have been their target. Making SBI a global player has been their fanciful idea notwithstanding the fact that it is neither prudent nor required for Indian situation. Ignoring all our viewpoints, opposition of various political parties, etc. the Government has gone ahead with their decision and after giving final Cabinet clearance few days ago, have now notified the merger with SBI w.e.f. 1st April, 2017.

With this development and reality, the need has now arisen to take all efforts to protect the interests of our membership in the Associate Banks. AIBEA’s union in SBI: Our units are aware that already we have our union in SBI viz. ALL INDIA STATE BANK OF INDIA EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION.

It has been decided that all our units and members in SBT, SBM, SBBJ, SBH and SBP will be affiliated to this union and thus we will have a stronger AISBIEA with nearly 50,000 members all over the country under the banner of AIBEA. It will be the biggest bankwise Union under the banner of AIBEA.

AISBIEA is shortly meeting to decide on all further steps to consolidate our organisation in the changed scenario after the merger with SBI and to take all steps to protect the interests of our members in the Associate Banks so that no injustice will be done to our members in any manner consequent to the merger.

With greetings,
Yours comradely,
C.H. VENKATACHALAM
GENERAL SECRETARY