The Hindu : National : Bank strike on July 28

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Tuesday, Jul 25, 2006

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National

Bank strike on July 28

Special Correspondent

Against privatisation, FDI and outsourcing

New Delhi: Employees of public sector undertakings, except the State Bank of India, will go on a day-long strike on July 28 to oppose outsourcing of jobs and demand more pension options and fresh recruitment.

The All-India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), the All-India Bank Officers Association (AIBOA) and the Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) have advanced the strike called for August 1 to July 28.

In a statement, C.H. Venkatachalam, AIBEA general secretary, said the strike call was against privatisation, foreign direct investment and outsourcing, which were detrimental to not only bank employees but also the national economy.

Several lakh employees would strike work demanding withdrawal of the Reserve Bank's circular on outsourcing of banking services and its decision to outsource clearing operations, that voting rights (cap at 10 per cent) to foreign investors be not increased, and filling up one lakh vacancies and one more pension option.

The unions see a ploy to reduce employee strength in the move to outsource services such as ATM operations, credit card, opening accounts, cash withdrawal and deposit, issuance of draft, and sanction and disbursement of loans.

Threat to security

The unions say there has been virtually no hiring of clerical staff in the PSU banks for a long time and about one lakh posts are lying vacant.

Outsourcing of the RBI clearing functions to private parties will threaten national security.

Another main demand is extension of the existing pension scheme to all employees.

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