Patna: Bank employees in Bihar on Sunday raised concerns over staff shortages, the reduction in clerical and subordinate cadres, and the proposed privatisation and merger of public sector banks at a programme marking the 58th Bank Nationalisation Day.The event was organised by the Bank Employees’ Federation of Bihar here and presided over by its secretary, Ranjan Raj. Addressing the gathering, speakers said the number of clerical staff had declined from 3.15 lakh to 2.5 lakh over the past decade, while subordinate staff strength had fallen from 1.6 lakh to one lakh. They claimed that recruitment to the subordinate cadre had also stopped in almost all banks.The federation said several banks had not submitted requisitions for clerical staff for the 2026-27 recruitment cycle, opting instead to recruit a large number of apprentices. The number of business correspondents has risen to around 35 lakh across public and private banks, while the number of permanent clerical staff has declined, it said.The speakers also opposed any move to merge or privatise public sector banks, claiming that bank mergers were a precursor to privatisation.The federation claimed that the banking sector’s business volume had grown from Rs40,000 crore in 1981 to Rs283 lakh crore in 2026, while net profits of banks had risen to around Rs2 lakh crore. However, it alleged that economic policies since 2014 had weakened public sector banks and encouraged private sector expansion.Speakers also opposed the “exploitation” of bank employees and called for stronger implementation of labour protections.
