Punjab Bank Employees Federation's conference tomorrow

Patiala, Mar 8 (UNI) More than 1,500 delegates will participate in Punjab Bank Employees Federation's ninth conference to be held here tomorrow to discuss the challenges like privatisation and other issues faced by the bank employees.

The conference, to be inaugurated by All India Bank Employees' Association General Secretary and United Forum of Bank Unions convenor C H Venkatachalam, is being held in the backdrop of bank employees' struggle under the banner of United Forum of Bank Unions to press for their demands, an official release said here today.

The ''struggle'' by employees managed ''to force'' the IBA and the government to set up a time frame for resolving their issues like providing one more round of option to join the pension scheme, apppointment on compassionate grounds for the dependents of the deceased employee, filling up of all vacancies in the banking industry, pension to all employees joined in between November 1993 and September 1995, the release added.

The conference will have further discussions to finalise the strategy for its future campaign against issues like outsourcing of permanent jobs, attacks on the banking industry to hand over public sector banks to the foreign players, merger of public sector banks to make them global banks, and the decision of the government to remove ceiling on voting rights in banks.

Debates on issues like increase of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the banking industry and policies of the banking industry, which are pro-corporate and not in the interest of the common man, would also be taken up, the release mentioned.

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