Hyderabad, Oct 2 (FN Agency) All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) on Wednesday urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to help expeditiously fill 60 vacant posts of Directors in Boards of 12 Public Sector Banks (PSBs). The 12 PSBs are – Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, UCO Bank and Union Bank of India. In a letter to Sitharaman, a copy of which was e-mailed to UNI, AIBEA General Secretary C H Venkatachalam said at present there are 186 posts of Directors in the Boards of the 12 public sector Banks but only 126 Directors are presently appointed and the remaining 60 posts of Directors (32%) remain vacant.
“We urge upon you to bestow your personal attention to fill up these vacant posts expeditiously,” the AIBEA General Secretary said.”We particularly want to convey the deep resentment amongst bank employees and officers about the non-filling up of Employee Directors/Officer Directors for the past 10 years and request your urgent action in this regard,” he said. ”You are aware that the Act provides for appointment of one Director representing the workmen employees’ representative Union and one Director representing non-workmen/Officers’ representative Association. In the 12 PSBs, 24 posts of Workmen Director/Officer Director are kept vacant for the past nearly 10 years, he said, adding this clearly shows that the Government doesn’t want representatives of the recognized majority unions on the Boards of the Banks, even though it is mandatory in terms of the Act.”
Venkatachalam said in 4 Public Sector Banks, (Bank of Baroda, Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India and Indian Bank) even the post of non-Executive Chairman is vacant and unfilled. Those posts were specially created by the present Government by splitting the combined post of CMD. He said for the effective and democratic functioning of the Boards of the Public Sector Banks, all the posts of Directors on the Board of Directors in the Banks are to be filled in as provided in the State Bank of India Act, 1955 and Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970/80 and in terms of the Scheme thereunder.