NEW DELHI (NUT Desk) – India’s federal finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman Tuesday said that not all banks in the country will be privatised and during the privatisation interest of the employees will be protected. “Those banks which are likely to get privatised, the interest of every worker (staff member) will be protected. Interest of existing employees will be protected at all cost,” Sitharaman said while addressing a press conference about the Indian government’s decision to set up a Development Finance Institution (DFI) to generate funds for investment in the infrastructure sector. Sitharaman’s statement comes amid a two-day countrywide banking strike called by nine unions against the proposed privatisation of two public sector banks. Banking services across India were hit Tuesday for the second straight day in wake of the strike. The strike was called by United Forum of Bank Union (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank unions in India. According to UFBU, nearly a million bank employees participated in the protest and abstained from work. Due to the strike, services such as deposits and withdrawal at banks, cheque clearance and loan approvals would be affected. However, ATMs are likely to remain functional.
