SBI associate's unions against merger; vows to intensify their protest

As the question of merging associate banks with State Bank of India (SBI) gets contentious by the day, employees of the five associate banks are stepping up their opposition to the move.

While the last meeting of non-supervisory staff under the banner of the State Sector Bank Employees Union (SSBEA) was held on Saturday last in Bangalore, the next one will be held in Thiruvananthapuram outside SBT on July 20, according to SSBEA General Secretary N Venugopal.

The SSBEA represents employees of State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Travancore (SBT), State Bank of Patiala (SBP), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) and State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ).

In fact, officers of the five banks under the umbrella of the Associate Bank Officers' Association (ABOA) have their reservations on the issue. General Secretary of ABOA (SBH unit) Harshavardhan Madabhushi said, “When a big bank takes over a small bank, there are natural concerns of step-motherly treatment being meted out to the merged entity's employees.” He reiterated fears of bank employee unions that there will be rationalisation of branches post-merger, possibly leading to job losses.

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No Opposition to Merger with SBI : SBM MD

Experts from conversation with the Managing Director of SBM,  Sharad Sharma 
(Source: Deccan Herald)

Merger of associate banks of SBI is imminent, one announcement is likely this quarter. Will it be SBM?
I don't know. The merger issue is regularly discussed, it also came up during the July 3 meeting. The committee headed  by SBI MD & Group Executive (Associate & Subsidiaries) S Vishvanathan is likely to submit its report before SBI board next month.

What is the view of SBM employees? 
There is no opposition to the merger from them. The officers’ association and also the unions are okay with it. We regularly talk to them. Presently, 82 per cent of our branches are in Karnataka, so post-merger, there could be some relocation of employees. 

Any operational challenges? Also, how much time would it take?  
We have the same IT super structure, risk management capability, systems and procedures as SBI.  To complete the merger, it would take about four to six months, there are regulatory issues as well.

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AISBPEF demands delinking of associate banks from SBI

During its general council meeting at Thapar University on Sunday 7th July, the All India State Bank of Patiala Employees Federation (AISBPEF) opposed merger of associate banks with SBI and demanded delinking of associates from State Bank of India.

S K Gautam, general secretary AISBPEF, said that the federation demanded delinking of associate banks from SBI on basis of performance of associate banks being better than SBI. "SBI management policies are restricting growth of associate banks. By giving license to new generation private banks, govt policies are moving in the direction of US pattern of banking where 30-40 banks are liquidated every year" he said.

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UFBU decides to oppose merger of associate banks with SBI

The meeting of UFBU held on 4th July,deplored the moves of the Government for merger of Banks more particularly the merger of Associate Banks with SBI which is widely in circulation and decided to oppose any such move.  

The meeting also highly deplored the manner in which the outsourcing of regular and perennial banking jobs are being resorted to undauntedly ignoring the subsisting Settlements / Understandings.

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One associate bank can be merged in FY'14: Pratip Chaudhuri

State Bank of India (SBI) today said it is in a position to merge one of the five associate banks in the current fiscal.

"Right now we are in a position to merge one of the subsidiaries in the current fiscal. Which one will depend on the committee report. It can happen in the third or the fourth quarter," SBI Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said.

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