The Crossbill News Desk
The All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) has raised strong objections to the Reserve Bank of India’s proposed rollout of its Framework for Responsible and Ethical Enablement of Artificial Intelligence (FREE-AI), warning that the initiative is being pushed without structured consultations with trade unions, civil society groups or consumer organisations.
In a statement, AIBOC, which represents more than 3.25 lakh bank officers across public and private sector banks, said that while it supports the framework’s stated aim of making AI trustworthy, fair and accountable, the current approach risks being a “top-down, time-bound imposition without social dialogue.” Such a move, it cautioned, could trigger legal uncertainty, consumer harm, exclusion of vulnerable groups and new stress on already stretched public sector banks.
The confederation highlighted eight areas of concern that it said required urgent, consultative resolution before sector-wide adoption of AI tools in banking.
Among these are the need for clear liability frameworks in cases of AI-induced errors, safeguards for employees against scapegoating for policy-compliant failures, and stronger protections against risks such as model drift, bias, and adversarial attacks. AIBOC also warned that early adoption costs could tilt competitive advantage toward private banks unless the government and RBI ensured public infrastructure and a level playing field.
The union further insisted that AI must not result in exclusion of borrowers or job losses. It demanded a “Right to Human Review” in loan decisions, a “no-forced redundancy covenant,” and a national upskilling mission to prepare employees for technological shifts. Without such protections, it said, morale and service quality would suffer.
On the broader risks to the banking system, AIBOC cautioned that misclassified risks could inflate bad loans and deepen inequality by favouring data-rich corporates at the expense of small borrowers and rural segments. To counter this, it sought targeted safeguards, stress testing, and inclusive AI models backed by public funding.
The statement, signed by AIBOC general secretary Rupam Roy, underscored the growing global push by trade unions to be involved in discussions on the introduction of AI in workplaces.
“AI can only deliver sustainable productivity gains when workers’ voices, rights, and protections are placed at the centre of technological change,” it said.
Stressing that it is “not anti-technology,” AIBOC called for the constitution of a National Council for AI in Banking with representation from trade unions, civil society, and consumer groups. It urged the RBI to “publish a White Paper and hold open consultations before codification.”
The confederation also pressed for a phased approach to adoption, with a moratorium on high-risk AI applications until safeguards like human oversight, fairness audits, recourse mechanisms, incident reporting, and AI-specific business continuity plans are in place and independently validated.
AIBOC concluded that responsible AI could indeed strengthen public trust, “only if it is built with the people who deliver and depend on banking services.”
In a statement, AIBOC, which represents more than 3.25 lakh bank officers across public and private sector banks, said that while it supports the framework’s stated aim of making AI trustworthy, fair and accountable, the current approach risks being a “top-down, time-bound imposition without social dialogue.” Such a move, it cautioned, could trigger legal uncertainty, consumer harm, exclusion of vulnerable groups and new stress on already stretched public sector banks.
The confederation highlighted eight areas of concern that it said required urgent, consultative resolution before sector-wide adoption of AI tools in banking.
Among these are the need for clear liability frameworks in cases of AI-induced errors, safeguards for employees against scapegoating for policy-compliant failures, and stronger protections against risks such as model drift, bias, and adversarial attacks. AIBOC also warned that early adoption costs could tilt competitive advantage toward private banks unless the government and RBI ensured public infrastructure and a level playing field.
The union further insisted that AI must not result in exclusion of borrowers or job losses. It demanded a “Right to Human Review” in loan decisions, a “no-forced redundancy covenant,” and a national upskilling mission to prepare employees for technological shifts. Without such protections, it said, morale and service quality would suffer.
On the broader risks to the banking system, AIBOC cautioned that misclassified risks could inflate bad loans and deepen inequality by favouring data-rich corporates at the expense of small borrowers and rural segments. To counter this, it sought targeted safeguards, stress testing, and inclusive AI models backed by public funding.
The statement, signed by AIBOC general secretary Rupam Roy, underscored the growing global push by trade unions to be involved in discussions on the introduction of AI in workplaces.
“AI can only deliver sustainable productivity gains when workers’ voices, rights, and protections are placed at the centre of technological change,” it said.
Stressing that it is “not anti-technology,” AIBOC called for the constitution of a National Council for AI in Banking with representation from trade unions, civil society, and consumer groups. It urged the RBI to “publish a White Paper and hold open consultations before codification.”
The confederation also pressed for a phased approach to adoption, with a moratorium on high-risk AI applications until safeguards like human oversight, fairness audits, recourse mechanisms, incident reporting, and AI-specific business continuity plans are in place and independently validated.
AIBOC concluded that responsible AI could indeed strengthen public trust, “only if it is built with the people who deliver and depend on banking services.”
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