Recently, the National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) and the National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO) alleged that AIBOC General Secretary Shri Rupam Roy removed their representatives from the official WhatsApp group of UFBU.
The two unions questioned his authority to remove them from the group, and the matter created a major controversy among bank unions. NOBW and NOBO then wrote a letter to other UFBU unions asking why they had been removed from the WhatsApp group.
UFBU stands for the United Forum of Bank Unions. It is the central umbrella organization and joint coordination forum representing nine major bank employee and officer unions in India, collectively covering nearly a million banking sector workers. The UFBU consists of nine key organizations: AIBEA, AIBOC, NCBE, AIBOA, BEFI, INBEF, INBOC, NOBW, and NOBO.
Now, UFBU has replied and explained its position. UFBU has accused NOBW and NOBO of working separately and taking up important issues with BMS and the Government without first discussing them with other UFBU unions. According to UFBU, such actions can affect the common stand of other unions.
UFBU has also alleged that posters carrying the names of different UFBU unions were circulated in a way that showed other unions in a bad light. UFBU also questioned why NOBW and NOBO separately raised issues such as 5-day banking with BMS and the Government when the same demand is already being pursued by UFBU.
UFBU further said that affiliates of NOBW and NOBO had been issuing defamatory circulars against other UFBU unions. According to UFBU, this issue was raised with both unions earlier, but they expressed their inability to stop such activities.
Another disagreement is related to the wage revision of bank employees and officers. UFBU said that the wage revision was achieved through the collective efforts of UFBU. However, according to UFBU, NOBW and NOBO issued circulars claiming that BMS had achieved the wage revision. UFBU has rejected this claim and said it is not true.
UFBU also said that when some of its leaders discussed these issues with NOBW and NOBO, their response indicated that they wanted to follow their own approach. UFBU believes that such an approach could harm its objectives and make it difficult for the unions to work together.
