Strike in Indian Bank on August 8

New Delhi, Aug 1 (UNI) Employees of the public sector Indian Bank will go on strike on August 8 to protest the ''failure'' of the management to honour an agreement with the unions.

The strike has been called by the United Forum of Bank Unions in the bank, including an officers union, said Mr Ashok Gupta, Secretary of the Federation of Indian Bank Employees Unions.

''The strike has been thrust on the employees since the management has failed to implement the agreements it had entered into with the unions on promotions, transfers and other service conditions,'' said Mr Gupta.

The All India Bank Employees Association and the Bank Employees Federation of India are supporting the strike in the Chennai-based nationalised bank.

According to Mr Gupta, employees who hail from the north are posted in the south and vice versa but the management refuses to repatriate them after the completion of their tenure.

''The tenure system has been in vogue for more than two decades but now the management has gone back on the agreement with impunity,'' he said.

Employees posted in the north-east and other sensitive areas also meet the same fate, he added.

The unions are also angry at the management's decision to outsource work, which they say would invite contract labour on a ''massive scale''.

They also allege that there has been no recruitment in the bank for the past ten years and the number of vacancies has risen to about 7,000.

The bank, which had turned around after huge losses in the 90s, has also frozen the staff welfare fund, Mr Gupta said.

About 21,000 employees will observe the strike on August 8, he added.

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