State Bank Officers Withdraw Agitation

Under pressure from the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the State Bank of India (SBI) management called truce with the SBI Officers Association which withdrew its week-long strike yesterday.

The strike, which began at 13 branches of Mumbai circle on June 11 and was to spread throughout the nation from June 23, ended when the representatives from two sides signed an agreement in Calcutta.

The strike was launched in protest against suspension of three officers of the Mumbai main branch for alleged involvement in the CRB Capital Markets scam on June 10.

The withdrawal of the strike has averted a major disruption in the banking system as the SBI strike was on the verge of assuming crisis proportion. Goa region reported sever shortage of currencies with 890 branches in Maharashtra and Goa joining the strike from June 16. A near payment crisis has been averted in Goa following the strikes withdrawal, a senior bank official said.

 

In a hasty decision, without making any inquiries, the SBI management served suspension notice to the three SBI officers at their residence at 11.30 PM on June 10 under pressure form the government machinery. Similarly, the management buckled under pressure from the RBI and the finance ministry and came on the negotiation table, an officers association member said.

Under the truce agreement, the SBI management reinstated one of the suspended officers, M M Narang, with immediate effect. The management has also promised to expedite the inquiry against the other two suspended officers V N Patil and R L Walker within 60 days, that is by August 10.

Narang worked in the dividend warrants department more than 18 months ago. Moreover, he has hardly interacted with CRB account. Further, his daughter is seriously ill, hence, considering his innocence and on humanitarian grounds, Narang was immediately reinstated, a bank official said.

Association general secretary R D Shendurnikar said, Under the agreement, the association signed a four-point charter with the management to bring a proper system in the bank.

As per the first demand, the association has secured an assurance form the SBI management that there will not be any victimisation of the employees. The bank was put to a loss of Rs 58 crore in the CRB case due to lack of clear-cut systems and procedures and not due to the officers ignorance or malafide intentions, an official said.

As its second demand, the association has asked the management to undertake organisational restructuring and create infrastructure facilities immediately, starting with the Mumbai main branch. A restructuring committee will be set up within the next eight to 10 days with members from both the management and the association. Third, all pending suspension cases will be reviewed immediately. Those suspension cases that do not warrant review and re-examination will be revoked.

The bank has 200 pending cases of suspended officers awaiting natural justice. Banks internal inquiry takes nearly three years to ensure natural justice to the suspended employees. Many of them are under suspension for more than four years, Shendurnikar said.