BEFI’s 9th Congress was held in India on February 7-10th, 2015. The Congress delegates of the Bank Employees Federation of India held a democratic, class-oriented and succesful Conference were they analyzed the developments in the sector nationally and internationally, elected their new leadership and put forward a militant action plan to defend and demand the employees rights.
Kali Patouna, WFTU Representative addressed the Congress with the following words:
“WFTU, representing today 90 million workers in 126 countries all over the world, is by your side and we wish to the 9th Congress of the Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) every success.
Under the actual circumstances of capitalist barbarity, WFTU has grown more and more strong, developing actions for all the big problems of international working class.
We, the workers in the Finance Sector, are able to watch daily with our own eyes the huge amount of wealth accumulating in a few hands, while working people who created this wealth, have to survive with less then the basic needs and leaving in inappropriate houses, eating inedible food, lacking access to pure water, without free public education for their children, without proper medical care, in an environment where the increase of prices is unbearable. Big industrialists are becoming richer thanks to workers sweat and workers are not able to buy even the products they produce themselves.
During the international capitalist crisis, the banks in my country as well as all over the world, appear as victims that need special care and support. Millions of dollars coming from state budgets, collected through heavy taxes paid by popular strata, are offered lavishly to the banks. Yet, bankers are literally swimming in money, while bank employees are leaving under conditions of total insecurity. Mergers in the Finance system are leading to dismissal thousands of bank employees.
On behalf of the WFTU secretariat, I would like to express once more our solidarity to your sector’s struggles.
Only through organized class struggle can we achieve solutions to the fair requests of class trade union movement.
Only through the combined struggle for the daily problems and for the abolishment of the capitalist exploitation can we solve workers problems.”
Com. Pradip Biswas was reelected General Secretary. New President is Com. C. J. Nandkumar.
