Left-leaning trade union representatives from the banking sector are a rejuvenated lot these days. The reason: with the Congress-led and Left-backed United Progressive Alliance government coming to power at the Centre, the unions see an opportunity to drive a hard bargain on wage negotiations and service conditions with bank managements. 
 
Also, they strongly feel that the government should not divest but increase its stake in listed public sector banks via buy-back of shares. 
 
Underscoring the pivotal role that public sector banks played in the development and growth of the country, trade union leaders are emphatic that these banks are as "strategic" as the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, National Thermal Power Corporation, GAIL India, Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation. 
 
"As privatisation of profitable public sector enterprises has been ruled out, state-owned banks should seize the opportunity and earmark a portion of their profits each year to buy-back their shares," said R J Sridharan, general secretary, All India Bank Officers' Association. 
 
Concurring with this line of thinking, Vishwas Utagi, general council member, All India Bank Employees Association, feels that public sector banks should be revitalised. 
 
"As banks are paying handsome dividends, it makes sense for the government to increase its stakeholding," he said. 
 
That these unions are resolutely opposed to privatisation is highlighted by the fact that the Bill seeking to bring down the government's stake in the public sector banks to 33 per cent had to be referred to a select committee of the 13th Lok Sabha. 
 
With the 14th Lok Sabha being constituted, all the Bills introduced in the earlier Lok Sabha, including the one to reduce the Centre's stake in state-owned banks, automatically get lapsed. 
 
Another section of these organisations, however, point to the writing on the wall: as the government is not going to support the banks by infusing capital, they have no choice but to tap the capital markets for raising resources to grow business and expand operations. 
 
While stating that public sector banks had shaped up well over the last few years, trade union leaders are of the view that a comprehensive overhaul of the human resource development and credit delivery policies was the need of the hour. 
 
The successful conclusion of the 8th bipartite wage negotiations, which was kicked off around eight months back, is uppermost on the trade union leaders' minds. 
 
Sridharan pointed out that public sector bank officers are reeling under tremendous work load after the voluntary retirement schemes of 2000, when almost 110,000 officers and award staff (clerical and sub-staff) hung up their boots. 
 
As a compensation for the increased work load, the unions representing officers have demanded a 15 per cent increase in wages [this translates into an annual burden of Rs 1,020 crore (Rs 10.20 billion) for banks] as against 12.25 per cent [Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion)] arrived at in the 7th bipartite settlement.