D.Ravikumuar
The Unions in the banking industry have been continuously pursuing demands pertaining to women employees at various levels. The recent article in the ‘Bank Workers’ Unity” e-magazine captioned “separate toilet for women – Canara Bank shows the way”, bringing to light the recent inter-office communication from Canara Bank management to all their branches directing to ensure provision of separate toilet for women has given new impetus to organizations to again raise this issue with more vigour with their respective managements.
All India Union Bank Employees Federation has immediately seized the opportunity and has written to the Chairman and Managing Director of Union Bank of India on 19th January 2022 requesting him to take immediate steps to provide exclusive toilet for women in all the Branches and Offices of Union Bank of India immediately.
(Celebrating 62nd year of Glorious existence)
C/o Union Bank of India
15 India Exchange Place
Kolkata – 700 001
Email: aiubefhome@gmail.com
19thJanuary 2022
Shri Rajkiran Rai. G
Managing Director & CEO
Union Bank of India
Central Office
Mumbai
Dear Sir,
Provision of Ladies Toilet in Branches / Offices
We raised the above demand long back before your taking charge of the Bank. In a discussion on list of issues held between Management and our Federation on 12th December 2014 at central office, in response to our demand for “provision of proper toilet facility exclusively for ladies be made in all branches and offices”, Management replied, “already instructed”. But, it was not done. Gradually, the issue become so important that 3rd National Convention of Woman Bank Employees under the banner of Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) held in Chennai in December 2017 formally raised the demand. As a preparatory work for the Women Convention, data were collected from all banks in Tamil Nadu in 2016 through RTI application in which it was found that there was no separate toilet for woman employees in 143 branches of our Bank in Tamil Nadu (under Salem RO – 28, under Madurai RO – 24, under Coimbatore RO – 39 and under Chennai RO 52). This picture can give a glimpse of the all India position in our Bank in this regard. The demand was adopted by BEFI in its 10th Conference held in Thiruvananthapuram in 2019.
You, being the Chairman of IBA, are definitely be happy that one of the member banks of IBA, amalgamated Canara Bank in its Women Conclave held in Bengaluru on 3rd of this month took a conclusive decision to provide ladies toilet in its all branches / offices throughout India. The decision of head office is very clear and unequivocal with instruction to offices below for requesting the landlords of the premises to construct separate ladies toilet and in case any land lord is not agreeing to do so, the ladies toilet shall be constructed at Bank’s cost. The decision indeed is praiseworthy.
We shall be very happy if we see that Union Bank of India becomes the next one among the member banks of the IBA in taking such concrete decision and, therefore, we request you kindly to look into the matter with priority for taking a landmark decision to provide separate toilet exclusively for woman employees to meet their legitimate and natural needs.
With regards,
Copy to : CGM (HR), GM (HR)
: all Zonal Heads and RHs
Yours sincerely
(Jagannath Chakraborty)
General Secretary
Hope our Units in all banks take up this important and basic issue and Congratulations to National Convention of Women Bank Employees
It is good that this demand is catching the attention of the Unions. Hope our women comrades are provided a separate toilet facilities in all bank branches and offices and GOI/ IBA takes a speedy decision in this regard
Any amount of development is always null and void if we don’t develop towards emotional advancement.
A separate restroom facility for ladies is a basic requirement for any organisation due to the privacy factor.
Kudos to Canara bank, Union bank, rest and BEFI for strongly taking this serious drawback in the banks. BOB where Iam serving mostly have two separate toilets or restrooms(Data obtaining for this is already in progress).
A data needs to be taken by the IBA and they need to come out with a permanent and complete solution to this. IBA doesn’t mean they will be in the limelight only for Bipartite settlement but there are many other crucial issues which also need their active involvement.