india

Updated: Sep 01, 2019 17:50 IST

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday dismissed fears of job losses following the government’s decision to merge 10 public sector banks and insisted that not even a single employee would be removed in the wake of the amalgamation.

“Absolutely, ill informed. I want to assure every union in everyone of these banks to please recall what I have said last Friday. When we spoke about amalgamation of banks I have very clearly underlined the fact that there shall not be one employee removed. Not at all”, she said at a press conference.

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On Friday, Sitharaman had unveiled a mega plan to merge 10 public sector banks into four as part of plans to boost government’s $5 trillion economy dream. On the same day, Central Statistics Office (CSO) released figures that showed the India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew at just 5 per cent, the slowest in six years.

The All India Bank Employees Union has said the merger would lead to closure of banks and job losses.

The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), labour wing of the RSS has also criticised the bank merger plan saying it was done without any study would only protect interests of corporate houses.

Ahead of Sitharaman’s assurance to bank employees, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the state of the economy was deeply worrying and insisted that last quarter’s GDP growth rate of 5% signals that the country is in the midst of a prolonged slowdown. The senior Congress leader also blamed “all-round mismanagement by the Modi government” for the economic slowdown.