SBI staff protest FD branch shift

The staff of State Bank of India (SBI) today staged demonstrations against SBI's reported decision to shift the money market operations at the Foreign Department (FD) in Kolkata to the Treasury Department at Mumbai.

City-based staff of SBI and the members of all catagories in the Foreign Exchange department under the leadership of SBI Staff Association (SBISA) along with their Officers' Association (SBIOA) today announced they would oppose the decision move tooth and nail.

Accordingly, the employees and the officials of the foreign exchange department, SBI has decided go for an indefinite hunger strike from today.

Sources close to the development said that if the management did not intervene immediately then the employees might opt stronger agitational programmes like a strike.

The staff associations approached state based ministers to get the issue raised in the Budget session of Parliament.

This had been done once earlier, when SBI first mooted the idea of shifting the Dealing and Cover operations from FD Kolkata to Mumbai citing poor telecommunication network in the city in 1985-86.

SBI issued a circular last month to the city based Foreign Department, regarding shifting the "Foreign Currency Money Market Operations" to Mumbai in phases.