Hundreds of bank officials affiliated to the All India Bank Officials Confederation (AIBOC) Coimbatore chapter staged a demonstration in front of the lead bank office, Jawans Bhavan, here demanding a slew measures for effective remonetisation and to tide over the crisis arising out of demonetisation.

Led by G Selvaraj, District Secretary of AIBOC, the bank officials demanded proper rationalisation in currency supply to all banks without any favourtism by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and compensation to officers working beyond office hours and also urged the government to appeal to the public to go digital to ease the cash crunch prevailing in the country.

While urging the RBI to come clean by revealing the data on distribution of new currency notes to PSBs and old generation private banks, the officials alleged that RBI was prioritising private banks over PSBs for allocating currency notes, thereby showing PSBs in a bad light; it was viewed as another attempt to take privatisation to the next step.

“Even though employees are having to put up with additional high workload, fatigue and high pressure work environment in tackling the crowds at many branches, the public sector and old private sector banks are highly committed in the service to the public to tide over the present crisis due to demonetisation,” Selvaraj said.

While the demonstrators condemned the malpractices in the distribution of new currency notes indulged in by bankers or individuals anywhere in the country, they appealed to the public not to panic or hoard new currency notes out of fear.

“Only if we circulate legal tenders the present situation can be brought under control,” the protesting bank employees said.

The bank officials shouted slogans demanding police protection to banks and bankers, especially in rural branches until the situation due to demonetisation was normalised.