The Hindu : Kerala News : Canara Bank employees on the warpath

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 07, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Kerala

Kerala

Canara Bank employees on the warpath

taff Reporter

Against management over memo served on union leader

Union leader flayed management for changing emblem
Staff say action curtailed freedom of expression

MALAPPURAM: Canara Bank employees are on the warpath against the management for treating their union leader with intolerance. Protest demonstrations are being held at different centres across the State.

The standoff between the Canara Bank management and the employees was sparked off by a recent show-cause memo given to K.V. George, secretary of the Canara Bank Staff Union, who is also the State secretary of the Bank Employees Forum of India (BEFI).

Mr. George was served a memo for criticising the bank management for changing the bank’s emblem. The old emblem of the bank was recently changed as part of a brand building exercise. Mr. George had criticised the bank management for spending a huge amount of money on the brand building. According to him, the change of the 102-year-old emblem was unwarranted and it had caused heavy losses for the bank.

The management claimed that Mr. George had repudiated the bank’s image by publicly criticising the institution. The memo given to Mr. George said that he had tarnished not only the bank’s image but that of the Finance Minister as well.

The employees who protested against the management at Nilambur claimed that the action against Mr. George amounted to crushing freedom of expression. The protest was under the aegis of the Nilambur area committee of the BEFI.

The BEFI will hold its district convention at NGO Union Hall at Malappuram on Saturday afternoon. The convention will discuss the employee-management face-off, and also the circumstances that led to the withdrawal of the national bank strike on February 26.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala