All India bank strike on Aug 1 against outsourcing of services

New Delhi, July 4 (UNI) Banking services will be paralysed across the country on August 1 in a strike by nearly one million employees and officers of nationalised and foreign banks to oppose a move to outsource services like withdrawal of cash and opening of accounts to private agencies.

The one-day strike has been called by the All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) and All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA).

The entire staff of Grameen Banks will also join the strike, unions said today.

''The Reserve Bank of India has issued a circular at the instance of the government permitting to outsource all the banking services to private agencies on commission and contract basis. We strongly opposed this move,'' said Mr Ramanand, Joint Secretary of AIBEA.

RBI is planning to outsource services including opening of accounts, withdrawal of cash, deposit of cash, issuance of draft and sanctioning and disbursement of loans, he added.

Banking services in the State Bank of India (SBI) will not be affected as the National Confederation of Bank Employees, the union in SBI, is not joining the strike.

The move to outsource services comes at a time when over 100,000 jobs in nationalised banks have not been filled up by the managements, Mr Ramanand said.

RBI is also planning to hand over clearing operations of cheques to private hands, he added saying it would not only expose confidentiality of transanctions but cut jobs.

AIBEA and AIBOA members will also stage branch-level, district-level and state-level demonstrations as well as a dharna on July 25 in the run-up to the strike on August 1.

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