Banking Union to go on strike from December 4 against job outsourcing: AIBEA General Secretary, C H Venkatachalam

The All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary, C H Venkatachalam, on November 22, 2023, called for a strike by the banking union on account of appropriate hiring and rejecting the outsourcing of permanent jobs.

According to Venkatachalam, bank branches will remain closed from December 4, 2023 onwards. The strike is expected to continue till December 11, 2023, as LiveMint reported earlier.

In his social media platform X post, Venkatachalam raised the concern of rising unemployment from the pre-Covid period to 2023, signifying the need for proper hiring in all banks and speaking against the outsourcing of day-to-day jobs.

Additionally, Venkatachalam pointed out the issues raised by a decrease in staff. The issues raised included an increase in stress, an increase in workload, quality issues, a decrease in service quality, quality issues, a decrease in productivity and a decrease in efficiency.

Earlier in its report, Livemint reported that the bank employees will go on strike on these days next month, according to the notification.

Employees of State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Punjab & Sind Bank will go on strike on 4 December, followed by employees of Bank of Baroda and Bank of India on 5 December. Employees of Canara Bank and Central Bank of India will be on strike on 7 December, and employees of Union Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra will be on strike on 8 December. On 11 December, private banks will go on strike.

Among its demands is stopping the outsourcing of permanent jobs in banks and ensuring adequate recruitment of Award Staff in banks, according to the All India Bank Employee Association.

In addition to the reduction in recruitment at lower levels, AIBEA general secretary C H Venkatachalam had earlier stated that outsourcing jobs is putting customers' privacy and their money at risk.

There are also some banks that violate the Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act. The management ignored the labour authorities' advice, violated the Industrial Disputes Act, and forced the employees out, he had said.