Unions of employees working in financial institutions of key Asian developing countries joined forces on Saturday to pitch for their demands, first such move in the global financial sector. The development has taken place at a time when global financial institutions are grappling with lower income and are cutting jobs.
Employee unions from 15 Asian countries, including India, Pakistan, Mauritius, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, have launched a common lobby called ?Asian Regional Organisation of Banks, Insurance & Finance Unions? (AROBIFU). The new union has 24 member organisations, representing over 3 million employees. It is also supported by Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean unions.
?Western financial institutions are trying to manipulate the Asian region, which has a huge market. The multi-national financial organisations are coming into Asia with huge capital, and are creating fear of job losses and labour exploitation in the local market. We have come together to fight these forces,? AROBIFU president and All India Bank Employee Association general secretary CH Venkatachalam said. AROBIFU would provide the necessary ?support and backing? to individual member groups to put across their demands to employers in a more effective way, Malaysia-based National Union of Bank Employees general secretary J Solomon said.
The union also released its declaration, stating its key objectives. According to it, the union would work toward carrying out research on matters concerning contractualisation, outsourcing and job insecurity; promoting solidarity among people, banks and financial sector employees in the region; and exchanging views among member organisations .