Trade unions accuse microfinance firms of exploitation, stage protest in Amritsar

Amritsar, January 31

The members of various trade unions and labour organisations staged a massive protest outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner here on Wednesday to highlight the ordeal that poor people from the rural areas have to go at the hands of microfinance companies operating in the state.

All India Trade Union Congress leader Amarjit Singh Asal said that they also submitted a bundle of 26,000 applications by the residents of the district to the Deputy Commissioner. Asal said that earlier, they had submitted 9,500 such applications to the DC on December 22.

He added that the number of persons entrapped by these microfinance companies is much more. “The companies offer a loan of Rs 20,000 to Rs 1 lakh per person. During the sanctioning of the loan, a large cut is made on the pretext of the commission of the middlemen. Then recovery installments are collected every week in cash and no record is given to the persons who had secured a loan,” said Asal, adding that people from rural areas who had taken loan from these microfinance companies are being exploited as they are forced to interest at very high rates.

The protesters were also addressed by CPI Punjab Secretary Bant Singh Brar, CPI National Council Member Hardev Arshi, Domestic Helpers Union’s Daswinder Kaur and leaders of various other worker and labour unions. The leaders stated that these companies use anti-social elements and criminals to make recoveries of their loans by visiting the homes of people and intimidating them.