KARACHI All 120 branches of the MCB Bank in the provincial capital were closed after employees paralysed its operations in protest against what they called `forced expulsion of thousands of employees`. The protest was launched by the bank`s union which the bank`s management claimed had been disbanded.

Hundreds of former employees and union members staged a sit-in outside the MCB Tower, the bank`s headquarters.

The bank`s management claimed that the protesters had “forcibly” closed its branches while MCB Union`s chief patron Saeed Ghani said workers had voluntarily closed them to press for the acceptance of their demands.

The protest lasted four hours, from 830 am till 12.30 pm.

In a press release, the MCB Bank urged the authorities concerned to take action against “people who forced the closure of its branches all over Karachi”.

The management also urged the government to take “strict action” to protect the assets of “one of the leading financial institutions of the country”. The MCB said the people who had picketed and interfered with the working of the bank, were being led by a former bank employee who had been “disbarred from representing himself as a representative of the trade union of MCB Bank by the National Industrial Relations Commission”.

It said that “the present Collective Bargaining Agent (CBA) of the MCB staff union, led by their General Secretary Muhammad Khan, has downed these actions by the miscreants”.

The protesters were demanding reinstatement of the retired employees, restoration of medical facility and pensions for all employees and stopping the practice of appointing workers on contracts.

“About 1,500 employees have been forcibly expelled during the past two years. Some 2,000 more have been laid off under a “golden handshake` scheme. The bank`s management has also withdrawn the medical facility and pensions,” Ghani said.

“We want to settle issues through negotiations. If the bank does not negotiate, we will expand our protest across the country,” he warned. This is first such incident against job cuts by banks which have given employment to about 50,000 people over the past 10 years.

Bank officials said the protesters had “locked down” the bank`s headquarters while the protesters said around 10 to 15 police patrol vehicles, carrying dozens of armed policemen, had been “protecting” the building. The protesters said the police could have easily unlocked the premises.

Ghani said it was humanly impossible to reach all branches and close them. “Most branches were either closed by employees supporting the protest or the management, which feared that protesters might reach there.”