No workmen directors in nationalised banks: plea in HC

There are no workmen or non- workmen directors in any of the nationalised banks in the country, a plea today claimed in the Delhi High Court which asked the government to respond.
Justice Vibhu Bakhru issued notice to the Centre and sought its stand on the grievance raised in the petition by the All India Bank Officers Confederation.
The petition, filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, has claimed that the Banking Companies (Acquisition and transfer of Undertakings) Act empowers the central government to make a scheme to include representation from workmen or non-workmen employees on the Board of Directors of nationalised banks.

Advocate Shakti Vardhan Sharma, appearing for the petitioner organisation, told the court that under the Nationalised Banks(Management and Miscellaneous Provisions) Scheme, 1970, a workman or non-workman employee director has to be nominated by the government from a panel of three such persons furnished to it by their representative union.
The organisation has contended that the intention behind workmen or non-workmen employee directors is to provide representation to every class of employees on the nationalised banks' boards of directors.
"But it is being noticed that currently all the banks do not have any workmen/non-workmen employee director on their Board. Punjab and Sind Bank has had no non-workmen employee director since 2008. Most of the workmen and non-workmen employee director posts are vacant since 2016.

"The whole purpose of giving representation to these class of employees is defeated if the central government fails to appoint directors on time," the petition has said.
It has alleged that despite the unions forwarding the names of potential candidates to the government, no appointments have been made.
The petitioner organisation has sought directions to the Centre to appoint workmen and non-workmen employee directors on the boards of all nationalised banks.