New Delhi, Sept 18: The All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) has strongly condemned Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) for what it described as “vindictive and illegal actions” after the termination of six office bearers and members of the Association of Standard Chartered Bank Officers (ASCBO) in Kolkata on Thursday under the pretext of redundancy.
Those terminated include Com. Satyajeet Tripathy, General Secretary of ASCBO, Com. Tilottama Roy, President of ASCBO, and four other active members of the union. According to AIBOC, their services were ended abruptly, with dues forcibly settled without dialogue or due process.
AIBOC alleged that the move was in “clear violation of Section 33 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947”, which prohibits punitive action against employees while industrial disputes are pending before a tribunal without prior approval. The Confederation said the bank’s conduct amounted to “union-busting and victimisation” aimed at silencing officers raising issues of discrimination, harassment, and exploitation.
ASCBO, a registered trade union under the Trade Union Act, 1926 and affiliated to AIBOC, has long raised concerns about the denial of National Holidays under the NI Act to officers, severe pay disparities with clerical staff, and misuse of redundancy and Performance Improvement Plans for arbitrary dismissals. The union has also flagged extended working hours, lack of work-life balance, and harassment of women officers. AIBOC said that in a bid to muzzle dissent, the management even suspended ASCBO’s official social media handles.
Union leaders claimed that the latest action is part of a pattern. In 2022, Com. Indranil Bhattacharyya, a teller with 17 years of service, was terminated on grounds of redundancy, though replacements were hired soon after. In 2024, Com. Sanjib Dey faced a similar notice. AIBOC said the current termination of six leaders is a continuation of this “systematic misuse” of redundancy provisions.
Calling the move “mala fide and vindictive”, AIBOC demanded immediate reinstatement of all six officers and urged the bank to withdraw what it termed “anti-union and anti-officer practices.” The Confederation also called upon the Ministry of Labour & Employment and the Reserve Bank of India to intervene and hold SCB accountable for violations of Indian labour laws.
AIBOC cautioned that the action against ASCBO is “not merely an assault on one union, but a direct challenge to the trade union movement in private and foreign banks.” It warned that unchecked measures of this kind could embolden other multinational corporations to undermine workers’ rights. The Confederation reaffirmed its solidarity with ASCBO, declaring that the “organised banking fraternity will resist these measures with full strength.”
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