Letters: Banking on technology

This refers to the report "Why banks now have more officers and fewer clerks" (April 17). Banking services are essential and the unions in nationalised banks go on strike even on issues that do not pertain to the employees. When banks stop working because of these unreasonable strikes, the economy suffers and crores of rupees, apart from precious man-hours, are lost every day. Technology has made unions irrelevant. To make them relevant, bank unions opposed computerisation in the '90s. But there was an interesting twist in the story. When one of the leading nationalised bank's union installed a personal computer (PC) at its office in Fountain, Mumbai, a question was put to the union - Why was it using a PC for work? The union replied it helped them manage thousands of its members. Now, the boot was on the other foot. Can one imagine banks without computers in the modern era? Some of the office-bearers of a Chennai-based nationalised bank union are facing allegations of a recruitment scam.

The only plus point is that bank employees are the office-bearers of unions, unlike in other sectors where non-employees head unions, mostly from political parties.

Deendayal M Lulla Mumbai

Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201
E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number