All India Bank strike on Oct 27 opposed

Kolkata, Oct 19: In a clear division among the country's major bank unions, All India Bank Employees Unity Forum (AIBEUF) today strongly opposed the one-day All India strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on October 27, describing it as ''anti- employees''.

Expressing AIBEUF's strong reservation against frequent nationwide strike call in banking institutions, its All India Secretary Arvind Sharma in a statement here today felt that the UFBU had ''no moral right to convene such a strike since they themselves have signed the 8th Bipartite agreement with IBA outsoursing various banking jobs''.

''We strongly feel that giving a strike call frequently would not solve the burning issues concerning bank employees,'' Mr Sharma said and made it clear that it required a ''determined and sustained united movement'' of all sections of bank employees in resolving the pending issues.

He also called upon millions of bank employees throughout the country to remain united for a protracted struggle for protecting their job security and preventing further outsourcing besides creating more pressure on the bank management to fill up all vacant posts without further delay.

AIBEUF also expressed its opposition towards UFBU's demand for introduction of an alternative pension scheme on cost sharing basis as it was ''against the wishes of majority of Bank employees'', Mr Sharma emphasised.

Incidentally, UFBU has called the one day nationwide bank strike on October 27, second in this year, to press for its four-point charter of demands, including a total ban on outsourcing of jobs and introduction of second pension scheme.

UNI