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Unions spit fire at foreign banks in India for cutting jobs

Trade union leader and Rajya Sabha member Gurudas Dasgupta and the All-India Bank Employees' Association general secretary Tarakeswar Chakrabarty have criticised the functioning of foreign banks in India and called for setting up of a Banking Service Audit Commission and a special cell to monitor them.

Speaking to newsmen in Calcutta, Chakrabarty said this commission should function on the lines of Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

Chakrabarty informed that the AIBEA would start a movement against foreign bank managements' attacks on jobs, job security and trade union rights of the employees.

Chakrabarty said that the AIBEA would hold an all-India meeting of all the foreign bank unions towards the end of August 1999.

The movement would culminate in an all-India strike soon after the polls. Besides, the association would also organise a march to Parliament in the last week of November next, he added.

Gurudas Dasgupta, strongly criticising the functioning of the foreign banks in India, said these were functioning contrary to ethics, convention and in ''utter violations of law of the land.''

He said that hundreds of employees had been thrown out in the guise of voluntary retirement schemes while all attempts were being made to deunionise the employees.

He alleged that the management of the foreign banks were introducing ''wasteful expenditures for upgrading information technology which are being rampantly introduced regardless of the requirement.''

UNI

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