10 lakh bank employees across the country to strike work tomorrow

Chennai - 04 August 2011 (PTI): Around 10 lakh bank employees across the country, including public, private and foreign banks, will observe a one-day token strike on Friday in protest against the Government's proposal to implement theBanking Law Amendment Bill, besides other things.

"It is a one day protest.Our demands include recruitment of full time bank employees and implementation of the compassionate ground appointment scheme", Ch Venkataachalam, national convenor ofUnited Forum of Bank Unions, the apex body of banks and bank employees, told reporters here.

He said UFBU was against the move to "relax" the policy on Banking Law Amendment Bill, which would ensure more voting rights for shareholders in private and Nationalised banks. "The governmment wants to relax it", he said.

Venkataachalam alleged that jobs for permanent vacancies were being outsourced through private agencies and by appointing business correspondents. "Recruitment should only be through the Banking Service Recruitment Board for about 1,000 vacancies which are lying vacant", he said.

He said there was a more than two year delay on providing jobs to the next of kin of employees who died while at work under the 'compassionate government employee scheme'.

He said the Association would meet inBangaloreon August 10 to decide the next course of action.